We're a Miracle
by Cure Orchid
Summary: Tales following the true love between Star and Marco as they go through life in a cleaved world.
1. A Whole New World

**Hello Fanfiction, I have finally returned!**

**I have been on a long hiatus as between my personal life and college, I didn't have as much time to write anymore.**

**But after everything that has happened in SVTFOE i had to write something myself, Star and Marco are my favorite ship and it is sad to see the show end. One day we will really see those two again, but until that day I am writing fanfiction to satisfy my Starco needs!**

**Yes I know everyone is writing post cleaved fics now, but I am still going to write my own! I want to be able to tell the world of what I personally would want to happen next.**

**So sit back and enjoy the first of many chapters of Starco fluff!**

* * *

To say today was a rough day for Star Butterfly would be the understatement of a lifetime.

Going through the magic well, fighting Solarian warriors, finding that her own mother betrayed her, becoming a couple with Marco, and finally having to destroy all magic with the cost being that she would forever be separated from her new boyfriend.

It was a lot.

But somehow, someway, she found herself staring into the eyes of the boy she thought would be worlds apart from her for the rest of her life. So stunned that all she could muster was a 'hi' to him.

For a moment, neither did anything but stare at each other. Marco took the first step forward and brushed the hair out of her eye, keeping his hand on her face afterwards. The dam of tears they both held back broke as their eyes flooded with tears. Star and Marco wrapped their arms around each other as tight as they possibly could, their legs giving out as they fell to the ground in the process.

Sobbing and cuddling, they stayed like that for a long time, wordlessly holding each other in their arms. The rest of the world could wait for a while, right now they needed this.

* * *

A few hours had already passed since their reunion, ever since then the two were always holding hands and leaning on each other.

The sun began to set on this new world, the auroras in the sky gaining an orange hue from the twilight. Star felt her hand reaching the top of the ledge and pulled herself up onto the top. She stood and took in the sights, a small grassy ledge with a single tree at its center. Close to the monster temple, but far enough that she was sure they would not be disturbed.

"Star!" she whipped around to see that Marco was still not on the ledge yet. Leaning down she saw him a foot away holding onto a rock with a single hand.

"A little help here!" he panicked.

Star moved quickly and grabbed his free hand with both of her own. Even without magic she still had Johansen strength and pulled Marco up with ease.

Marco took a second to catch his breath "Thanks, for a second I thought-"his words were shushed as Star put a finger to his lips.

"Look at the sky." She pointed his eyes up to the glowing aurora borealis. That was the one thing about this new world that wasn't part of either. Both Earth and Mewni have aurora borealis, but they only appear in certain places and certain times of the year. But it kept glowing even though it should not have been able to.

"Well, guess we can add that to the list of stuff to investigate." Marco sighed. He took Star's hand and led her towards the tree; they both took a seat against it as they watched the sunset.

"I gotta say this is the second best sunset I've ever seen." Star awed.

"Let me guess, the dimension of a thousand sunsets?" Marco guessed.

"Yep, Tom went there on his trip didn't he?" she asked. Marco nodded in response.

A moment of silence ensued before Star broke the silence again "So I'm glad everyone is taking this whole dimensional merge well." Marco shrugged "Humans are strangely apathetic to this stuff, after they found out what happened they just acted like everything was normal."

"To be fair, they already dealt with me for over a year." Star mentioned. The human populace was running around in panic at first, but the second they saw Star they completely understood how it happened.

"The monsters are also adjusting better than I'd thought; glad humanity is more accepting than mewmanity." Marco reminded her "The Mewman's though…" he begun to start but trailed off as he was unsure how to word the next part.

"The Mewmans are going to take a while to come around; they've hated change for centuries, and this is the biggest change of all." Star noted "Plus we lost track of Mina back on Mewni so she's still out there somewhere." She waved her arm to the whole area in front of them.

Marco rested his hand on her shoulder and turned to her "Hey, it's gonna work out. This isn't Mewni anymore, this is Earthni. A new world with a really dumb name." he chuckled.

Earlier Eclipsa, Moon and Globgor left to get things straightened out with the people in charge of countries. Mewni was much smaller than earth, so all of Mewni was basically a medium sized country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean now. River and his eagles confirmed that Echo Creek was the only part of earth that got actually merged with Mewni, the rest of the planet went on separately without the weirdness. Drone footage captured the former site of Echo Creek was now a big crater, with some passerby's were understandably shocked to see. Most after seeing the geography agreed that Earthni was to be its own country or micro nation. Eclipsa was voted to stay queen of the country by the people; the mayor shrugged and basically said it wasn't his problem anymore.

"It is a dumb name isn't it? But it's still better than what some of the other suggestions were." Star reminded him as she begun to rattle off some of the names "Let's see, there was Echni Mewk, Weird Town, Mewmatropolis, The land of the Taco's, Pony Head the city, Trash Mountain, Hoboken 2: This time we mean business…" Marco couldn't hold back his laughter as she went through the list, he clutched his side in laughing tears "Oh my gosh, these people are terrible at naming places!" The two laughed for a good minute about this.

Star wiped a tear from her eye as the laughter subsided "Well whatever it's called, it's our new home!" her eyes scanned the horizon, it was strange to see things like Castle Avarius and the High School in the same line of sight.

"Looks like we got most of Mewni here, the only place that was confirmed not to be here is Pie Island." Marco told her, Star was mildly surprised "So their still back in the old dimension? Ooh that is gonna be rough for them with no new people to scam." She stuck her tongue out remembering that terrible place, then a thought occurred "Wait, what about the underworld?" "Tom confirmed that it's underground still, did you know that demon powers aren't magic so he still has fire and stuff?" Marco told her.

The mention of magic made the Butterfly's face fall, she looked to her hands in melancholy. Marco noticed her shift in mood and put his hand on top of the one she was looking at.

"Star, it's gonna be ok. You don't need magic." He reassured her.

"It's not that…it's just…it's hard to believe magic is really gone." Star stared up to the sky "Magic has been there my whole life, nothing will never be the same. "

Marco watched her for a moment; he didn't have magic in his life until she arrived, so he could readjust more easily than her. Unsure what to say, he just asked her "Do you regret it?"

Star brought her gaze back to the boy next to her; she shook her head and gave a wistful smile "I don't." She gripped his hand tighter "As long as I have you, I have no regrets."

Both held their gaze at each other, the lights in the sky shining in their eyes. Marco leaned his forehead onto Star's, sighing in contentment. Star let out a soft giggle as she pulled her free hand over his neck to bring him even closer. His eyes began to close as he leaned in the give her a peck on the nose.

"I love you Star." He mumbled quietly, she smirked in return "I love you too Marco, but you missed."

A confident grin plastered itself on his face as his brought his lips to hers for a sweet, loving kiss. This kiss was gentle and soft, yet it had all the love they could muster for each other. Star laced her fingers into his hair as they brought their faces apart for air. Marco had the biggest smile on his face and Star could swear she saw hearts in his eyes "I love you Star." He told her once more "Marco you just said that." She smiled "And I am going to keep telling you that for as long as I live." He said lovingly.

Star held him by the head and guided it down so that his head was resting on her lap; Marco blushed in response "Star? What are-"once again he was shushed by her finger to his lips "We deserve a little rest, we can head home in a bit, but for right now I just wanna stay right here with you."

Marco couldn't argue with that, the fatigue of the day finally was catching up with him and lying on his girlfriend's lap with her hands running through his hair was helping him nod off. In a few moments Marco had already fallen fast asleep. Star watched him with a smile, bending down to give him a quick kiss on the forehead before sitting back against the tree "With or without magic, we belong together." Star whispered as sleep claimed her as well.

The sun set on the two lovers under the tree, the end of magic was the beginning of something new. No matter what challenges were ahead, the two of them would face this new world together.

Neither of them noticed the glowing hearts and crescents on their cheeks however.


	2. True To Your Heart

**Hey guys, before I start the next chapter I would like to thank everyone who read my story.**

**I also would like to answer the questions asked by SugarQueen97: Foolduke can probably see her parents again, in this story the the main country of Mewni is the area's marked on the map that came with the Guide to Mastering Dimensions book. The rest of Mewni outside of that area was scattered over the globe much farther away, so Pie Island is on Earth but in another ocean than the pacific.**

**As for Echo Creek, The whole city was the only part of Earth merged with the country of Mewni and moved. Star and Marco never went much farther than that on Earth so it was the only Earth part that merged. They still have connections to the whole rest of the world, they just need a plane or boat to travel now.**

**I will answer most any questions if you guys have them for this story's world and continuity.**

**Well let's move on shall we!**

* * *

Riding up to the porch on his bike, Marco entered his house to the sound of happily barking regular puppies. Once they noticed that it was Marco who entered the doorway they quickly ran over to glomp him. The boy laughed as the dogs proceeded to give him little licks and pats with their paws "Aww It's nice to see you guys too!"

Marco and Star were worried that the puppies would be destroyed with the magic; luckily it only took away their lasers. However with all the chaos that came with raising a newborn baby, the puppies moved over to Star's place instead. The fact that the puppies were in his house clued Marco in that his girlfriend was also there.

"Star? You here?" Marco called out into the house. He expected her voice to shout out from somewhere but it was surprisingly quiet in the Diaz household, aside from the puppies that is.

Marco looked around for any sign of the blonde when he spotted a note of the kitchen counter. Picking it up he recognized his mother's handwriting:

_Marco, me and your father went out with Mariposa to do some shopping._

_All these new Mewnian stores are just so interesting! There is supposed to be this interesting kind of Calzone that tells you something about your future!_

_Star and the puppies came over as I was finishing this note; she had a bag with her and said you were going to help her with something?_

_Well we will be back around six and we'll bring dinner, love mom._

"Help her with something? Star never mentioned anything like that?" He said out loud as he plaed the note back down.

Heading upstairs, Marco checked inside his own room for Star. Not finding her in there he checked her former room and Mariposa's current room, still nothing. Marco was about to check the roof when he heard a small groan coming from the bathroom.

Marco knocked on the door "Star? Is that you?"

The sound of stuff falling over accompanied a small yelp of surprise, indirectly answering his question. "Marco! When'd you get here?!" he heard her from behind the door.

"Uh I'm the one who should be asking you that? What's going on" Marco asked.

He could hear stuff getting moved around as she told him "Just…working on a little something!" the nervous tone in her voice did nothing to quell his concerns.

"Star, is everything ok?" he was starting to get worried about her, his gut was telling him to open the door but his brain told him to wait a moment.

A few seconds of silence passed by until he heard her sigh, Star came over and opened the door to the bathroom. Normally Marco would be concerned by the various shades of pink scattered all over the sink and floor, but right now he was more focused on the poorly drawn pink hearts and the sad look on his lovers face.

"Oh." Now her odd behavior made more sense. Star pushed her hair back and cringed "Does it look bad?" she asked referring to her self-made hearts. Marco took a closer look before saying "…yeah, they look pretty bad."

The blunt honesty of his comment made Star lightly push him on the shoulder "Marco that is not what you say to a woman who has spent over an hour trying to get her hearts right!" Star tried to sound angry but she had to agree with him.

"Over an hour?" Marco repeated, the way they were drawn he would have sworn she drew them in a few minutes.

Star huffed as she turned around to grab the makeup remover "Drawing on your face is a lot harder than drawing on paper, Diaz! Starfan13 makes it look so easy." Star recalled her earlier attempts to draw the hearts kept getting messed up by her face breaking out into a smile or her laughing at the brush tickling. Keeping a straight face was a difficult challenge for someone like Star. Luckily, or unluckily, her failed attempts made her feel down enough to finally draw a heart. But now they just felt empty.

Rubbing the pink off of her face she stared back into the mirror at her empty cheeks. Star lifted her hand up to squish her cheek in with a halfhearted boop. Marco wrapped his arms around her shoulders and nuzzled into the top of her head "Hey, I think you look great even without your hearts." He softly spoke to her.

Star placed her hands on top of his and smiled "Yeah, I still look great!" her face drooped again "But that's not what this is about."

Letting go of one of his hands, Star reached out to touch the mirror before her "I've had those hearts since I was born. They were a part of me. I know how silly it sounds but…losing my hearts feels like…like I'm growing up." Marco lifted his head to gaze into the mirror with her "How would you feel if you woke up one day and your mole was gone?" Star asked.

Marco opened his mouth to respond, but found his voice would not make a peep. His eyebrows furrowed in understanding, if it happened to him then he's feel like he's lost a part of himself. Even something as tiny as a mole was part of what made Marco…well…Marco!

The hand touching the mirror pulled back to Star as her and Marco stepped away from the bathroom. Making their way towards the couch, they sat down next to a pile of tired puppies. Star pulled the one named Barko Diaz to her chest as she began petting his head, a small smile returning to her face once more.

Marco held his head in his hands as he watched his girlfriend for a moment; he finally found the voice to ask "Have you tried anything other than face painting?" Star nodded a 'yes' to him "My first idea was to get tattoos on my cheeks. Janna took me to a tattoo parlor, but Tom came in and dragged us out. Apparently it really hurts getting a tattoo, and getting it on my face would be miserable!"

"You asked Janna for help before me!?" Marco cried in disbelief.

"Well she had tattoos before." Star reasoned.

"You were the one who poofed up those tattoos! And they didn't even last a week!" Marco reminded her "Tom has an actual tattoo! Why didn't you ask him about it?"

Star shrugged "Janna was closer on my contact list. Plus she was bummed she lost the betting pool on us."

Marco rolled his eyes at the mention of the betting pool. When he and Star announced their relationship, amongst the cheers was people handing over money to Ferguson with a big sack that read Starco pool. It turns out that Ferguson and Janna started a bet on when and how the two of them would get together and it quickly spread outside the school. Their friends, families, the late Magic Commission, Rasticore, Janna's friend Needles, someone Marco didn't even know named Doop-Doop, and several others were in on it.

"I will never understand why Eclipsa let Meteora put money into the pool." Marco sighed. Star's eyes lit up for a moment and she asked "Hey, who won that bet anyway?"

* * *

King Pony Head is surrounded by an enormous pile of cash, with his daughters watching in annoyance "HAHA I WIN! I WAS RIGHT AND YOU WERENT!" he gloated to his kids. Pony Head huffed "Ok we get it! It's been 3 days, you can stop doing the 'King was right' dance now!" sure enough the King was moving his disembodied head in a way that resembled dancing, or as close as you could get as a giant floating head.

* * *

"He was surprisingly accurate." Marco commented.

"Getting back on track, Star I think I have an idea how to give you some hearts." Marco told her. Star blinked in confusion and awe "How?"

An hour later and the young couple was at a store called 'Sticker Depot', Marco led Star down an isle filled with various stickers of all sorts of sizes and shapes "Face Stickers!" Star exclaimed in wonder "They make stickers that are supposed to go on your face!" Marco chuckled at her reaction, remembering the times when she stuck regular stickers to her face "Yeah, these ones actually stick on instead of falling off after 5 minutes."

They reached a shelf filled with heart stickers; both of them scanned the display for ones that resembled her former cheek emblems. It didn't take long for Star to gasp and grab one from a shelf above her, a roll of face stickers that were a perfect size and color match for her missing hearts!

"It's perfect!" Star gasped as she held the roll, Marco looked and saw that it was an industrial sized roll with over 200 of them "Why would they make a pack this big?" he asked, then he saw the price tag that read $650.00 on it "Of course."

The pair returned to Marco's house shortly after, Marco carried a bucket of water and a big towel into the bathroom to clean up the mess Star made. The door swung open in front of him, making Marco yelp and fall over.

"Look, look! I got my hearts!" Star pointed to the stickers on her face. Whatever annoyance Marco had at being soaked with a bucket of water immediately disappeared when he saw the joy on her face. Star leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before happily skipping away down the hall.

Marco grinned lovingly "Best 650 spent yet."


	3. Bella Notte

**I'm back with another new chapter!**

**I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

To say that Marco Diaz was nervous would be an understatement.

Pulling a black jacket over his dress shirt, Marco looked himself over in the mirror "Ok Marco, you can do this, you and Star were always hanging out and doing stuff together, so why should a first date make me feel any different?" he psyched himself up "Well it's the first date with the girl of my dreams and one wrong move and its over between us!" and he panicked himself once more. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the worst case scenarios from his mind and reassured himself "You got everything set up perfectly! You got the flowers; you got the reservation you got…" Marco looked over to the clock "…5 minutes to pick her up!" in the midst of motivating himself he had lost track of time.

Rushing out the door and past his parents, he tore down the sidewalk at a running pace. Halfway down the street he stopped and smacked his head "The flowers!" So he made a mad dash back to his house.

Running back inside he nearly collided into his mother who stood there holding a bouquet of blue flowers "Forget something?" she asked her sweating son. Marco gave a nervous laugh as he took the bouquet from her "Heh, yeah. Thanks mom!"

Mrs. Diaz took a step closer and wiped a smudge off his shoulder, she looked to her son with loving eyes "Marco, stop stressing yourself out. It's only Star."

Marco pulled back and gasped "Only Star?! Mom this is huge! A first date has to be perfect! It sets the standard for the whole relationship! Me and Jackie's first date got hijacked by Ludo in a clown costume and look where that ended!"

Mrs. Diaz looked at her son with reassurance "Yes, but what you and Star have is more than just a crush. You two have been through so much that one date wouldn't be enough to break up with you. Frankly, nothing could."

Marco smiled, his body already relaxing more. He was about to say something else when his mom unexpectedly shoved him out the door "Get going! Mother-Son moments can wait until after your date!" Marco looked at his watch to see he only had 2 minutes left until he was supposed to meet her. Scrambling he took off at an even faster speed than last time.

OXOXOXOX

Somehow Marco had made it to the monster temple with 10 seconds to spare. All those times he had run for his life were beginning to pay off. He made his way to Star's room and took another deep breath before knocking on the door. He could hear some rumbling on the other side before the door opened to reveal Star.

She wore a simple sleeveless red dress that was held in a choker top at the neck. A light blue purse hung on her hip and on her feet were red platform shoes matching the dress. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail like it was on Beach day, and her heart stickers had extra glitter on them.

Marco only had one word for her "Wow." He stood there smiling like a dork in love.

Star gave him a look over as well "Wow, yourself."

It took a moment for Marco to remember to breathe, but when he did he thrust the bouquet of flowers into her arms "Flowers! I-uh mean, I got you some flowers!" he choked out. Star giggled at his stuttering "Aw, You remembered my favorite! You are too good to me Diaz!" Star winked as she went to put the flowers in her room.

Returning to his side, Star wrapped her arms around Marco's "Lead the way!" she pointed onward "As you wish m'lady." Marco replied in a suave tone.

As they walked to the restaurant, under the shining sky, Marco thought to himself 'Maybe this will go perfectly after all.'

OXOXOXOX

"Yo, what up Earth-ni turds! It's ya girl Pony Head here with another episode of…The Pony Head show!"

A CGI title logo flashed across the screen on Seahorse's laptop, the guy in question was pointing a camera at the pony princess as she introduced herself to her viewers. He pressed a button and a fake applause noise was added behind her.

"Oh please, stop your embarrassing me!" She bowed to the nonexistent audience "Tonight we got a different kind of episode! My best bestie Star Butterfly is finally going out on her first date with Marco the Earth-Turd!" Stock photos of Star and Marco were digitally added behind Pony Head as she said their names. Star's looked normal; however Marco's photo was him swatting the camera away screaming, as he was getting out of the shower with only a towel on.

"Now, Marco personally told me to make this date as perfect and completely over the top romantic as possible! I remember our conversation well…" Pony reminisced.

OXOXOXOX

Pony Head is floating outside Marco's window with a listening device connected to her headphones. Marco is pacing back and forth as he talks on the phone "Look Tom, you've dated her before. What should I do? What do I avoid?" Marco stopped as Tom said something on the other end "…'don't set fire to the cheesecake'? Tom, how would I even do that?!"

OXOXOXOX

Pony Head nodded to herself "Yep, he is totally counting on me!" Seahorse waved his fin slightly in front of the camera "Ugh, what is it camera man?! I am like totally trending or whatever!" Pony Head called to him annoyed "Pony Head, how are you going to make it the most romantic date ever?" Seahorse asked.

Pony Head smirked "I'm glad you asked…"

OXOXOXOX

Star and Marco were led by a waiter to a table in the restaurant. The restaurant looked like a typical Italian place, with checkered tablecloth and a single candle between them. Star looked around her in awe "Ooh, so this is what 'I-ta-ly' looks like!" she sounded out each vowel in the word 'Italy'.

"Heh, I don't think this is what Italy looks like. But I'm sure the food tastes just like it's from there." Marco chuckled, the way she pronounced the country's name reminded him of all the times when she first came to earth and he showed her different types of cultural foods.

Star brought her gaze back to the boy across from her "Man, when's the last time we got to sit down and have a meal together?" she wondered wistfully "Uh, this afternoon when we got burritos." Marco reminded her.

Star shook her head "Well yeah, I know that! But I mean like when we lived in the same house or castle, temple or whatever." Marco placed his hand on top of hers "I know what you mean. I miss living together too! The house just feels so empty without you there."

The pair stared lovingly into each other's eyes, until a menu was shoved between them. The waiter's face was obscured by a big hat and a bushy mustache, amongst other things like the noodly arms and dangling legs that seemed to levitate off the ground "Hola, you two must be the lovers, yes?" the waiter spoke in a deep and faked voice.

Star and Marco exchanged strange looks to each other "Uh…yeah?" Marco replied unsure.

"Perfecto, I have just the meal for you two!" The waiter pointed with 'his' hand to a small scribble at the bottom of the menu. In poorly written blue crayon was 'Spagety for two' with a picture of a single noodle next to it.

"Uh I'm gonna pass on that." Star took the menu back "Actually I could really go for some pizza! How about you Marco?"

"Pizza sounds great." Marco agreed.

The 'waiter' wrote down their order on a slip and nervously started walking away "Alright, pizza it is…amigos." As soon as the waiter was out of sight, Star and Marco turned back to each other "Did that waiter seem familiar to you?" Marco spoke in a whisper to Star "Yeah, and he forgot to get our drink order too!" Star whispered back.

A real waiter came up to the table a second later "Greetings, I am your waiter! What may I get you tonight?" the couple mirrored confused faces to each other.

OXOXOXOX

The 'waiter' removed the hat and mustache to reveal Pony Head underneath "Alright, plan A has hit a bump in the road."

Seahorse once more raised his fin "Exactly what was plan A?"

Pony Head rolled her eyes 'Uh, don't you know anything about romance?! A place like this they gotta share a plate of spaghetti, they both start slurping down the same piece and they kiss. Bam! Romance!"

"How would they eat the same piece at the same time?" Seahorse once more questioned.

"Easy!" Pony Head whistled, and a plate with a single noodle of spaghetti was placed before her "Only one noodle." Pony Head was impressed by her own so called 'romantic geniusness'.

Seahorse blinked "I see many flaws with this plan." Pony got up in his face "Uh huh, well it has already failed so shut up already! I'd like to see you do better!"

OXOXOXOX

The young couple laughed as Star finished telling Marco a story "Wait-wait-wait! You mean your dad actually took it literally?!" Marco asked between laughs "Yeah! He totally did! So now mom's banned him from ever going to the mall on his own again!" Star's laughs started to subside as she wiped a tear from her eye.

With the laughter gone down, Marco looked away for a moment and scratched the back of his neck. Star raised an eyebrow "Everything alright Marco?"

The boy responded back with a fond smile "Yeah…it's totally perfe-"

Marco was interrupted by a rose petal falling onto his shoulder; before he could react further the entire side of the table that Marco was on was covered in rose petals. With her date buried under the flowers, Star quickly ran over and helped pull him out of the pile "What the heck was that?! Do Italian restaurants always rain flowers?" Star questioned. Marco had swallowed some of the petals and began coughing them up as Star helped sweep them off the table.

Above them, Pony Head and Seahorse were hunched over in an air vent on the ceiling, with an empty bucket that had previously been holding the rose petals "Man, you have terrible aim! I thought you said it was gonna lightly rain over both of them!" Pony glared at her companion.

"My apologies, I did not calculate for the weight of the flowers and the opening was too far to the left than intended." Seahorse spoke in his usual manner.

Pony huffed "Looks like it's time to face the music."

"Do you mean that we should stop interfering and let them continue their dinner in peace?" Seahorse asked.

"No I mean like, actually turn around and face the music!" Pony told him "I brought in a little entertainment."

OXOXOXOX

Star and Marco were happily digging into the pizza that sat between them, Star finishing another piece with a strand of cheese hanging out of her mouth. She slurped it up happily "Ah, now this is the right amount of mushrooms!" "I told you I was sorry about that!" Marco replied before finishing his own slice.

Both their hands reached for the last slice and bumped into each other. After a second enjoying the contact, Star swiped the slice away "Too slow Diaz."

Marco let her take it without a fight "You win this round Butterfly." He playfully admitted defeat.

As Star ate her victory slice, Marco took a sip of his drink. From the corner of his eye, he saw a certain minstrel they knew setting up his guitar near the wall behind Star. Marco's drink sprayed out of his mouth and onto the table.

"Oh no." Marco cringed.

Star jumped at his sudden spit take and whipped around to see the cause "Ruberiot?!" The minstrel in question noticed the two looking at him and waved.

The lovers both had a similar worry racing through their minds 'There's no way he would sing that song'. Unfortunately as he strummed his first notes they instantly recognized the final verse of the infamous song.

The whole restaurant gave Ruberiot their attention as he began singing "Royal secret, one last to tell. A princess under true love's spell!"

Star and Marco sat uncomfortably as memories of Song Day entered their minds "Who is the boy in the earthly attire? The prince of the princesses deepest desire~" Marco's eyes scanned the table for anything that could quickly put a stop to his song.

"I don't need to show it, I think we all know it, but just to be certain I'll say it again! Sta-"Ruberiot was suddenly silenced by a piece of bread flying directly into his mouth. As Ruberiot ran off trying to stop choking on the bread, Marco was filled with relief that his throw made it. Both he and Star shared a look of suspicion "Why was Ruberiot here and singing my song day song?" Star wondered "I have a feeling it's related to the weird waiter and the flower petals." Marco added.

OXOXOXOX

Pony Head was back in her waiter disguise pushing a cart towards her friends, she looked back to Seahorse who was holding his camera just out of sight "Alright, so my plans have not gone the way they were supposed to! But if this doesn't up the romance, nothing will!"

Pony snuck over to the couple who had just gotten their dessert "Bonjour again young lovers! I have a special treat for you tonight!" she now spoke in a fake French accent for some odd reason.

Star and Marco nodded to each other before Marco began to speak "Actually, we had a question for you." Pony began sweating nervously "F-for me?!" Star brought up her new smartphone and pulled up the Pony Head show stream. The video showed them at the restaurant from an angle behind a plant.

"Why is our date on the stupid Pony Head show?" Marco asked.

"Stupid!? My show is not stu-" Pony started before realizing that she had just blown her cover. Star and Marco gave her a look that let her know she was totally busted.

"Ugh, fine!" Pony took off her disguise "I, Pony Head, was the waiter all along!" she dramatically revealed.

"Yeah we figured that out already. The question is why?" Star questioned.

Pony Head floated down between them "I'll tell you why! You are-"Marco stopped her with his hand "Can you stop filming first?" he pointed back to Seahorse in a bush. Pony sighed and pulled an extension cord from her disguise and yanked it. As the camera shut off, the other end of the cord came flying forward and landed on Marco's slice of cheesecake. The cheesecake quickly burst into flames.

"Uh yeah, I think I'll like, meet you two outside." Pony awkwardly floated over to the door.

OXOXOXOX

Minutes later, the annoyed couple glared at Pony Head outside the restaurant "Start talking Pony." Star demanded.

"Well, you two are like, the best couple I know until I get a BF. And a lot of people love tuning in to super gushy romantic stuff for some reason."

Marco was about to tear into her for interfering, but he caught a mischievous look in Star's eyes. He got on the same wavelength about what she had in mind and placed an arm around her waist "So they want 'super gushy romantic stuff'?" he asked.

Pony gave a nod as Star looped her arms around Marco's shoulder "So they wanna see me and my handsome hunk snuggle and tell each other sweet nothings by the candlelight?" Star rested her head on Marco's shoulder, Marco trying not to let the immense blush from her comment be seen by Pony.

Pony Head cringed and floated a step back "Yeah, like I guess…" she sounded a little uncomfortable.

Marco placed a kiss on top of Star's hair "Or would they rather see us sit under the moonlight, Gazing into each other's eyes as if it was the only sight in the world." Marco tilted Star's chin up so they were eye to eye "For nothing else can compare to my sweet sugar angel's beauty in all the cosmos."

Now Pony Head was very uncomfortable "Now wait a minute…"

Star and Marco nuzzled each other on the nose as they made loving noises to each other. Pony Head watched with widened eyes for a moment as they muttered cutesy nicknames to each other. After a few moments she could no longer take it "OK! I don't care what everyone wants! No way am I sitting through this sickening sweetheart fest!" Pony Head flew off as she pulled Seahorse away by the fin "Come on; let's go film more of me! That's what the people really want!"

When they were out of sight, Star and Marco pulled away and burst into a blushing fit of laughter "Oh my corn it actually worked!" Star laughed in amazement "That was incredibly cheesy! How did she buy it!?" Marco questioned.

The laughter and intense blushes faded and they were left standing in front of the restaurant. Marco put his hands in his pockets and stared down to the floor "Man, this night was supposed to go perfectly." He groaned.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and lifted his eyes to meet Star's "Marco, perfection is overrated. Me and you, we got something much better than perfection!" Marco raised an eyebrow "Which is?" "We have fun!" Star pumped her fist up into the sky with joy.

"Yeah, fun does sound much better." Marco agreed "The night's still young, what do you want to do next?" he asked. Star laced her arms around his and leaned onto him "I don't mind snuggling and gazing into each other's eyes all night, my handsome prince." Star spoke lovingly as one of her fingers traced circles on his chest. If Marco had a hard time concealing his blush earlier, it was impossible now with how red his face had turned "Uhhh…" his brain could not make any further words.

Laughter broke him out of his trance as Star pulled herself away, her hand still held his however "Your face is priceless right now Marco!" once he realized she was kidding he gave her an amused grin "I'll make sure to return the favor on our next date."

A glowing sign caught the pair's attention as they walked down the street. Looking at the place they smiled to each other "You up for some laser tag?" Marco asked "Oh you know I am!" Star answered back. The couple heading inside to spend the next few hours shooting lasers at each other.


	4. Rainy Day Man

**Hey guys, its time for another chapter.**

**And to now answer a some questions from a few of the reviews! **

**To SugarQueen97: Not soon, but eventually Star will be able to go without the heart stickers. **

**To animegamefanatic: ****Kelly and Talon's worlds are still separated. Without the dimensional scissors working, they wont be able to see them. As for the Dragon Cycles, I'd like to think there was already a few herds of them in Mewni, but Nachos was brought to Earth by Hekapoo as a last gift to Marco. The betting pool was for how would Starco become canon and where and when it would happen, King Pony Head placed his bet on it happening in a pig-goat barn during an attack by ancient warriors. Star's royal status is still with a question mark, that will eventually be answered but not for a long time.**

**To allen Vth: Honestly, the Pony Head Show only has one actual fan, Starfan13.**

* * *

For the first time since the cleave, the usually colorful sky of Earthni was covered by a thick layer of dark grey clouds. The dark skies and cold weather didn't bother Star Butterfly one bit as she strolled down a path of stalls in the new monster market. Beside her was a large green frog man known to his friends as Buff Frog.

"This place is looking great Buff Frog!" Star awed at the various vendors. If it was Mewmans, she would normally see corn for sale under every awning. But with monsters, no two places sold the same thing.

"It even surprise Buff Frog how fast the place was set up." Buff Frog replied in his typical accent.

A sweet scent caught Star's nose as she followed it to a cotton candy stall. Her eyes shimmered with sparkles as she went to head over and buy some.

Buff Frog went onward before realizing he had lost track of the Mewman girl "Star?" he scanned the area. The second his eyes landed on the two huge stacks of colorful cotton candy heading towards him, he figured out where she was.

"Buff Frog! Look at the size of these babies!" Star excitedly shouted over the crowd. Buff Frog was confused "These are not babies, this is fluffy sugar candy." He corrected her. Passing Buff Frog one of the cotton candy's the two resumed walking.

"So sugary~" Star sighed in happiness. Buff Frog took a bite as well "Yes, this…really IS only sugar." He swallowed one bite and he already felt like it was enough. Star on the other hand continued eating hers "So (munch) how does it feel to be on the new royal council?" she asked as she chewed.

Looking at the new badge on his chest, Buff Frog smiled "It feel good. Now I have good job, and Buff Babie-I mean Buff Children have good new place to live."

The old Butterfly monarchy may have come to a close, but a different sort of monarchy took its place. The citizens of Earthni had voted to keep Eclipsa queen, but Eclipsa made a big change to the way she ruled. Instead of being the only one in charge of the kingdom alongside her husband, she created The Royal Council. A group of 6 elected individuals all of different species and origins to help her and Globgor run Earthni. Buff Frog had been elected the representative of monsters, and with it came rooms for him and his kids in the monster temple. That had also been in part because the Buff household had been smashed by a Solarian.

One of the first major decisions by the queen and council was a place where monsters could sell their goods, so the Monster Market was born.

Somehow, Star had managed to finish her whole cotton candy. After throwing the cone away, she turned back to Buff Frog "This has been fun talking to you again Star Butterfly. But I must be heading home now. It is Katrina's first time making dinner." Buff Frog told her happily.

"Aww, see you later Buff Frog." She hugged him, then went down a different path than he was "You not going back to temple?" he asked "Nah, I wanna take the long way home." Star waved to him. Buff Frog shouted something else but it was drowned out by the sound of a car horn.

OoWoO

As Star took her time casually strolling through town, she paid no attention to the blackening clouds above. She looked around at the people she passed. For the most part the people of Mewni and Earth had been getting along pretty well. Not everyone agreed with the change but for every person who hated the cleave, there were three others who were adapting to it.

Smiling, Star took a breath of relief. For once things in her life were looking sunny.

Until the downpour of rain that fell on her seconds later.

Other people ran inside or took out umbrellas as the rain began to rain down. Star looked up for a second before shrugging and continuing on her way "I don't get these people. It's just a little water. It's not going to hurt anyone."

OoWoO

Looking out of the window, Marco sipped his Boba Tea as he watched the rain fall harder with each passing second. Pulling his umbrella closer to his seat, Marco was thankful he checked the forecast before leaving the house.

"It pays to be prepared." He patted himself on the back. As another straw full of boba went into his mouth he turned his attention across the street. A familiar mess of blonde hair was casually strolling through the terrible weather. Instantly, Marco recognized the girl and coughed on his boba "Star?!"

Leaving the drink behind, Marco opened his umbrella the second he opened the door and walked over to the drenched girl.

While the rain wasn't bothering Star in the slightest, even she had to admit it was getting a bit rough for her.

"STAR!"

A voice she would know anywhere brought her attention to the boy sprinting in her direction "Hey Marco!" she happily greeted him as he got closer.

Once the two were standing in front of each other, Marco looked at her incredulously "What are you doing out in the middle of a storm?! Without a coat or umbrella even!"

Star gave him a shrug "Just taking a little stroll. Me and Buff Frog were at the market and it just started raining. Wet socks don't bother me as much as they do you so I just kept walking." She explained casually "We gotta get out of here and find somewhere nice and dry, come on!" Marco reached for her hand and pulled her towards him.

Instead of coming under the umbrella, Star just stood there "Marco, It's just rain. It's perfectly harmless and fun to walk in the rain!" she jumped back under the rain and did a twirl on a sign post "Give me one good reason to get out of this weather."

"Star, in a short time, the winds are going to be pushing you around and the rain will be so thick you won't be able to see right in front of you!" Marco warned her. To prove his point the rain began falling much harder than it was a minute ago.

Star looked up and felt the raindrops pour on her face, no longer as enjoyable as it was a minute ago. "Ok yeah, that is a good reason to get out of this weather." Star reluctantly agreed with him.

Star inched forward to join Marco under his umbrella, but Marco stopped and handed it to her. Once his hands no longer had anything in them, he pulled his hoodie over his head and took it off "Marco, why are you taking your-"Star's question was answered before she could even finish as the aforementioned hoodie was now pulled down over her instead.

Taking back the umbrella, Marco wrapped his arm around Star and held her close so they could both squeeze under the umbrella "I think you need it more than I do right now." Marco told her. Star smiled back in return as she linked her arm into his own.

OoWoO

The walk back was still a while away, as Marco predicted the rain kept falling harder and the wind picked up dramatically. The two teens leaned closer into each other as the winds whipped them around, both of them holding onto the umbrella as tight as they could.

"You were right Marco! I can't even tell which direction the monster temple is!" Star shouted over the sound of the wind. By this point, the stickers on her cheeks had both blown off in the storm. Marco stopped and looked around for a street sign, luckily spotting one close enough to read "My house is only 2 more blocks west of here! Let's head there till the storms over!" Marco told her.

As they changed direction, a big gust of wind caught them off guard and sent the umbrella flying away behind them.

"The umbrella!" Star shouted as she reached after it. Marco pulled her back "It's long gone!"

Marco pulled Star's head under his arm and into his chest as they ran forward as fast as they could. Star gripped the hood on her head tighter as they went against the wind.

Making their way to his house, Marco lost his footing and nearly slipped. Star grabbed his shirt before he could tumble over, stopping his face inches before the ground "Thanks." Marco gratefully told her as she pulled him back up "WHAT?!" Star however could not hear his soft voice over the howling wind "I SAID THANKS!" Marco repeated this time shouting loud enough to hear "OH! OK!" Star shouted back.

Two blocks later and they finally made it to the doorway of the Diaz household. As Marco struggled trying to get the key into the door, his mom opened it from the inside "Marco, Star, what are you two doing out in that storm?!" she asked as the couple ran inside, both of them soaking wet "Aw, we were just taking a little stroll." Star answered. Mrs. Diaz blinked "Ok then…I'll grab you two some towels." She walked out of the room.

Now alone, Star and Marco turned to each other, and just burst out laughing. Neither was sure why they started laughing, they just did "You know, that wasn't so bad." Marco admitted "Maybe we could take another walk in the rain when it's not storming?"

"I told you the rain was fun!" Star countered. Marco looked at her lovingly "Yeah, but being with you makes anything fun." Both of them blushed, just in time to hear a camera click and see Mrs. Diaz taking a photo of them "Aww, you two are so precious!"

"Mom!"


	5. Something There

**Today, this chapter will turn the focus from the OTP, to the Beta Ship of the story. Very few chapters will have other characters in the spotlight, but 9 out of 10 times it's on Starco.**

**To answer animegamefanatic: Moon actually is working on her baking skills. She doesn't have a bakery yet however. She did run to be on the council but lost to someone else to be the Mewman representative.**

* * *

The usual peace of the Diaz backyard was disturbed by a pillar of flames arising from a hole in the ground. Within the flames, a silhouette began rising up until he ceased the flames and hovered to the ground.

"Yes! Finally, the right house!" Tom cheered to himself. He went over to the hole in the ground; it was like a long tunnel that went deep under all the way to the underworld "And the holes are getting smaller too!" Tom recalled the previous dozen attempts to reach Marco's house all ended with even bigger holes in random locations in the neighborhood.

Tom kept almost all of his powers after the cleave, the only one he lost was being able to make portals. The first day he quickly found that he could use his flames to burrow underground between Earthni and his kingdom. Getting home was easy; finding the right spot to emerge from was the challenge.

Hastily covering the gaping hole with dirt, Tom floated over to Marco's window "Marco! I finally am getting the hang of this!" he called out as he knocked on the window.

The window opened but it was not who Tom was expecting to see. Leaning out the window was Janna.

"Janna? Where's Marco?" Tom asked. Janna stepped aside so Tom could climb through the window and plopped onto the bed below.

"Oh, he and Star are seeing a movie together." Janna shrugged. She walked back over to Marco's laptop and resumed what she was doing before the demon showed up.

"So...he let you stay in here while he was gone?" Tom questioned in disbelief "Nah, I always sneak in when he's gone. How do you think I got so much dirt on him?" Janna answered, momentarily taking her attention away from the computer.

Tom peeked over her shoulder to see what was on the screen "Is that…Marco's diary?!" Tom was honestly more shocked that Marco had a diary than he was at Janna reading it.

"Eeyup. You should read it sometime, got some interesting stories in here. Did you know he named his chest hair Rodrigo?" Janna continued to scroll.

Tom was tempted, but he and Marco were bros, and bros don't read each other's diaries. Tom pressed the off button and watched the screen go black "Hey, I was just getting to the good part!" Janna complained "Look, I swore off spying on Marco after the Naysaya thing. And frankly, I am kind of concerned why you always do this stuff." Tom pointed a finger at her "Jannanigans." She answered "It's just how I roll. Plus messing with Marco is fun."

Janna grabbed a bag from under the chair and pulled out a grappling hook. She went over to the window and shot the hook into a nearby tree, then she turned back to Tom "Come on, let's get out of here and have some real fun!" and with that she whooshed out the window and landed under the tree.

On one hand, Tom did not have anything better to do, on the other hand it was Janna, he let his boredom win and joined her in the backyard "Alright, as long as there's no beefed up crows." "I can't make any promises."

OXOXOXOX

"Welcome to the morgue!"

Janna dramatically pushed open the door, revealing a large and mostly white room on the other side. Silver drawers lined the walls on half of the room, while the other side had mostly equipment and a freezer.

"Ok, I'll bite. Why are we at the morgue?" Tom looked to his companion.

Janna's face turned into a mischievous smile "You can raise the dead, right?"

Tom's mouth now curved into a mischievous smile of his own.

OXOXOXOX

The man working the Morgue's front desk was bored out of his mind "My life feels deader than the corpses in the freezers." He banged his head on the desk.

The front bell dinged; causing the man to slowly lift his head up "Can I help you?" he expected to see a living person in front of him. Instead he saw about a dozen undead zombies lined up to the front counter "Excuse me sir, but may I ask where are we?" The zombie in the front asked politely.

The guy behind the counter started screaming for his life as he jumped up and ran to the nearest glass window, breaking through with his body and continued running down the street now covered in glass shards.

The zombies watched in confusion "Well he seemed to be in a hurry." The one in the front commented.

From behind one of the doors, Tom and Janna were cracking up "Oh man, did you see his face when he realized they were dead!" Janna laughed "Priceless! Oh man I wish I had put a tracking curse on that guy so we could see the rest of his freak out!" Tom wiped the tear from his eye "Hey that gives me an idea!" Janna was about to leave, before Tom grabbed her arm and pointed to the zombies "Oh right. Let's just turn em back."

Tom summoned a green flame in his hand, and with a snap of his fingers the zombies returned to their previous dead states "We should probably clean up the dead people." Janna sighed.

OXOXOXOX

After hiding the bodies, the two troublemakers were standing in a phone booth "Prank calls? Isn't that like, the most cliché prank in the book?" Tom wondered out loud.

Janna put a quarter in and began dialing a number "It's all about who you call." The phone began to ring on the other end. A teenaged male voice answered "Hello, you've reached Britta's Taco's, newly refurbished. May I take your order?"

Janna cleared her throat before speaking in a deeper voice "Hello, this is Doctor…Hospital. I have some alarming news for you Mr. Taco Guy. Scientists have just discovered that handling taco ingredients results in rapid hair loss after a 3 month period."

"Oh man, I've been working at this place for almost 3 months!" the guy on the other end's voice raised in alarm "Is there any way to stop it?"

"Yes, the same scientists have discovered that if you leave a bag with a dozen tacos next to the dumpster and walk back inside. Your hair will be protected from baldness." Janna told him.

"Alright, thanks for the tip Doctor Hospital!" the guy on the other end hung up. Tom looked at her in confusion "I don't get it, what was funny about that?" "Oh this prank wasn't meant to be funny." Janna answered as they left the phone booth "Come on! Time for the payoff!"

OXOXOXOX

In the back of Britta's Taco's, Oskar came out with a bag of tacos and placed them on the ground in front of the dumpster. Oskar pet the top of his own head "It's a good thing the doctor called; going bald would really set my music career back."

Once Oskar had gone back inside, Janna and Tom climbed out from inside the dumpster. Janna grabbed the bag of tacos "Free lunch." She waved the food in his face. Tom gave her an approving look "I'd call that more of a scam than a prank though." Janna shrugged "Eh, call it what you want. We got food, and I know just the spot to eat it at."

OXOXOXOX

The sounds of burnt out engines and dying motor's echoed across the Monster Truck Graveyard. On top of a huge pile of truck parts, the two sat on the hood of what was left of a black truck painted with flame, both of them eating the tacos.

"Wait, so Ponyhead was on trial?" Tom asked as he finished his second taco.

"Yep, Star told me she was accused with stealing a crown." Janna answered as she munched on her third taco.

"So who framed her?" Tom wondered. Janna was about to answer, when she realized she didn't even know the answer "Huh…I forgot to ask that. Well Star and Marco solved that mystery anyway."

Tom gave a light chuckle "Man, I thought I'd heard all of the adventures those guys went on."

Janna finished her taco as she started talking again "Nah, I could tell you tons of weird stories that happened during the time they were in school with me. There was one time a psychedelic colored gorilla invaded the school and got his snot all over Marco in front of Jackie. Another time Star used her magic to summon a huge cake for Fergusons birthday and it gained sentience. Then there was the week with that little girl and the bounty hunter from the future. Those two were always a weirdness magnet and it made school so much less boring."

Tom was about to bite into another taco, when he stopped and looked away "Honestly, I wish I could have gone to school like you guys." He admitted.

"What! Why would you wanna go to school?! You're a powerful demon prince of the underworld with powers that could burn someone's flesh off!" Janna asked bewildered.

"Well, yeah being a demon prince is fun. But it's also pretty lonely." Tom laid back on the hood of the truck "I didn't meet Star until like 3 years ago, before her…I didn't really have any friends. I mean, sure there were people who were paid or threatened to hang out with me. But no one I could just…" he trailed off. Janna prodded him "'Just' what?" "…Sit on a monster truck and eat tacos with." Tom admitted.

"Did you just admit that I'm your friend?" Janna teased.

"Surprisingly, yes I did." Tom replied "You know, Marco told me how you admitted you're his friend. He also said you stopped your pulse to help him get to Star."

Janna groaned and joined him in lying on her back "I knew telling him that would come back to haunt me.

"Aww I think its sweet." Now it was Tom's turn to tease her "Yeah, yeah." Janna pushed him as she got back up "Enough with the feelings, its making me sick. How about I show you why I come here." She grabbed the tacos and skid down the pile of junk, Tom hovering down right behind her.

Navigating through all the piles of cars, the duo found a locked door hidden in the middle of the junk. Janna pulled a key out of her pocket and undid the lock. Walking inside, Janna closed the door behind them and flicked a switch. Several rows of white Christmas lights hung over the ceiling, shining down below on a half-finished monster car. Unlike every other car in the graveyard, this one was in better condition. No parts of it matched, from the different types of wheels, to the patchwork like exterior. This truck seemed to have a piece of every other truck around.

"Behold! The Frankenstein! A monster truck of my own creation!" Janna waved her hand out as she showed it off.

Tom was floored "You-you built this?!"

"Yep, Every time I'm here I look for a different type of truck and I mix it all together. No two parts are from the same truck. It's a mismatched beauty of my own design!" Janna exclaimed proudly, leaning on the side. Her elbow knocked off one of the side mirrors and she hastily re attached it.

"So that engine thing you had when we went to your place for help, was part of this?" Tom connected the dots; Janna nodded "I've been working on this baby for a year and a half now."

"Can we ride it?" Tom asked her, but Janna's face turned to a frown "Unfortunately no. Even though I've been working on this for so long, it's still not closed to being finished." She sadly rubbed the headlights "The outside only needs a few pieces in the back, but finding stuff for the engine and all the other stuff inside is a lot harder to come by. Most of the trucks that come here are in such bad shape that I can't fix the machinery."

Heading over to the light switch, Janna flicked it off as they left the room "Once this bad boy's finished, it'll be the best ride in Earthni." Janna added as they walked towards the exit of the graveyard.

"I believe it." Tom agreed "So, why show me?"

"Cause we're friends, man." Janna elbowed him in the ribs. Tom jokingly gasped "Why Janna, that's the most shocking thing you've ever said!" "Yeah yeah." She dismissed him.

The sun started to set when they left the graveyard, Tom stopping in the middle of the sidewalk "Well, I should head back now." "Eh, me too. It's been fun though. How about next week I take a visit to the underworld and we can cause some mischief there?" Janna asked.

Tom smiled "Heh, better bring something flame retardant then."

Tom was about to start his flame tunnel when Janna poked his arm "Hang on; there's one last thing I need your help with."

OXOXOXOX

Marco finished wrapping a towel around his body as he went towards the shower. All was normal until he opened the shower door and inside was a disembodied screaming ghost head.

Marco fell backwards at the sound of its screaming, angrily he shook his fist in the air "JANNA!"


	6. The Future is Clear

**Hey guys, I'm getting busy preparing for anime expo so I'm not sure if I will finish the next chapter before then. If I don't then the next chapter will be up July 8th or 9th.**

* * *

"Hey, Marco! You in there?" Star knocked on her boyfriend's door, usually he would say she can come in or at least acknowledge her existence. So the silence on the other end was confusing.

So in typical Star fashion, she kicked the door open "MARCO!" she shouted.

The loud noise was enough to get Marco to finally lift his head from the book he was reading, one of many currently sitting in a circle around him "Star?"

Star knocked some books over as she ran to his side "Marco! You gotta come see this! The Mewman's discovered Corn Dogs and-""Not now Star, I have to finish reading all of this!" Marco interrupted in a panic.

The Mewman girl took a look at all the books in the room "What the…I thought you already finished High School with that test thing?" she picked one of the books up and read the title aloud "College Exam Best of Volume 36?"

Marco reluctantly placed his book down as he stood up "I did get my High School Equivalency. These are books for college." He explained.

"What's a college?" Star asked

"It's what comes after high school, it sets you on the track for the career you will have afterwards." Marco told her "Getting into a good college means you'll have a good job, but not everyone can get in anywhere they want! The best colleges have exams and stuff you gotta pass to get in." his voice began to rise in panic "And if you don't get in you go to a low quality college or worse! You don't go at all! You end up flipping burgers or living with your mom for the rest of your life! You never accomplish anything and you'll die a nobody who no one will remember because they couldn't do anything with their life because they never got to go to college!" by the end of his panic filled monologue he was sweating and hyperventilating.

Star blinked "Uh…that sounds…stressful." She had no idea what to make of this.

"Oh it is! I've been reading this stuff for nearly two days now!" Marco agreed "I have to get this all memorized before the exam's begin in a few years!"

"Woah-woah-hang on a minute? These things don't happen for a few more years?!" Star questioned in shock.

"Well yeah, people don't normally go to college until their around 17 or 18. I'm just getting a head start." Marco lifted another book into his arms; he showed the title to Star 'It pays to start early'. Star grabbed the book and flipped through it as he continued "Janna and the others are back in school for their junior year, so I have somewhere around two years to study."

This talk about school reminded Marco of something "Wait, Star why haven't you gone back to school?" he wondered.

Star shifted uncomfortably "Well…"

OXOXOXOX

Star is sitting at a table in her parent's newly constructed yurt, the three of them are in the middle of dinner with River gnawing on a slab of meat as Star talks "So because there's no school on Mewni, it's going to take a while for Mewman's and monsters to integrate into the school system. Plus, I am really important at helping everyone with this whole merging of our dimensions. I don't have time to go to school when I'm busy helping!"

Star hoped that would convince them. Her mother looked concerned, but before she could add in anything, River shouted "Works for me!" and went back to eating his meat.

OXOXOXOX

"Yeah, my mom let me go on the condition that I am homeschooled from now on." Star dejectedly added.

Marco looked at her in shock "How could you just not go to school!? How are you going to get into college?" Marco freaked out. Star held him by the shoulder "Marco, until 5 minutes ago I didn't even know what college was. Plus, no one went to school on Mewni and some people ended up just fine…sort of." She admitted.

"Well…what about the future? What do you want to do when you grow up?" Marco asked, trying to get her to see his side of things "Don't know. I'll figure it out when I get there." Star shrugged "My whole life I was told I was going to be queen, but now that is very unlikely to happen."

She poked a finger to his chest "What about you Marco? What do you want to do?" she turned the tables. Hearing her question, Marco froze "I…I don't know!" he realized. All of his focus had been on just getting into a college; he had forgotten that he didn't even know what he wanted to go to college to study.

Marco slumped backwards into a chair, swiveling around as it turned to his desk. His head hitting the wood as his hands held his head "I don't know what I want to be!" his words muffled from under his head.

Watching her boyfriend like this, Star thought about how she could help. Her gaze shifted towards the closet as her eyes spotted a familiar piece of blue cloth. She went over and carefully grabbed the item from the closet "Hey Marco?"

Her sweet voice caused him to turn his head to look at her. He saw his knight cape, the one she made him, in her hands "My cape?" he asked, lifting his head up.

Star held out the back so he could see the patches, Star pointed to the one in the center "I never finished sewing your cape." She handed it to him "The middle patch was going to be for your lifelong post. But now we can add whatever you want."

Marco stared at it as Star left the room "I'm going to get my sewing stuff, while I'm gone I want you to think long and hard about what goes in the center!" and with that, she was gone.

Feeling the fabric under his thumb, Marco studied all the pictures Star had already sewn in. All of them were something meaningful to him, so that last one had to be the most important of all. Without a second thought, Marco knew exactly what he wanted.

OXOXOXOX

The door was kicked open once again by Star, this time she was holding a box of supplies and her own cape on her back "I'm back!" she announced in a sing-song voice "I even brought my own cape over! Cape buddies!" she eagerly turned around to show him.

Marco chuckled "Hey, I made my choice!" he handed her his cape as they took a seat on the floor. Star noticed that all the books that were previously scattered around the room were now stacked neatly next to his desk.

Star began grabbing a couple needles and a lot of different colored threads and fabric out of her box "Ok, so I went ahead and made a few ideas a while ago that are ready to go!" Marco glanced down at some premade patches depicting swords, his version of the wand, his adult self with detailed abs and a few others. Marco looked at all of them and shook his head "Sorry, I don't see the one I want here."

As Star put those patches away and grabbed her sewing needle, she asked "Alrighty then, what do you want in the center?"

"You."

That one word made Star top in her tracks and drop her supplies "Wait…me?" she asked in disbelief. Marco reached over and gently held one of her hands "Yeah, you said the middle was for my lifelong post. I told you back when I made yours that the one thing I could commit to was our friendship, and now our relationship." Marco blushed as he continued "While you were gone it only took me a second to decide that I wanted a picture of you in the center. Then I kept thinking and I realized that the only thing I knew for sure I wanted to do with my future is just…to be with you." Marco admitted as he bashfully avoided eye contact.

The initial surprise faded from Star's face as he went on and now morphed into a look of pure love "Aww Marco, you big ol' sap!" she pulled him into a hug.

When she eventually let him go, she pulled out her supplies and within 10 minutes, she had sewn a picture of herself onto his cape. Marco put it on and posed with it "This looks even better now!" he told her.

Star got up and the two swiftly embraced for another hug "Still worried about college?" Star asked. Marco nodded "Yeah, but that can wait for a while. As long as I have you, the future will be fine."

"Yeah, the only thing I know I want is you…and your abs." Star sighed.

"My abs?" Marco repeated in confusion.

"Future you is getting your sweet,sweet abs back. I need those abs." Star told him seriously.


	7. Two Worlds

**Yes! I manged to finish this in time before I left for Anime Expo!**

* * *

"Do you see them yet?"

"Star, for the 15th time, no I do not see them yet."

"Ok…how 'bout now?"

Marco groaned as he leaned back against the park bench. The reason for his girlfriend's impatience was that this was Eclipsa and Globgor's first day off since becoming king and queen of the land of Earthni. The queen asked Star to show her around to see some earth culture, and the blonde couldn't wait to get started.

"Marco! I see them!" Star grabbed Marco's arm as she pulled them from the bench and towards the approaching couple.

Eclipsa smiled as she spotted Star racing towards her with Marco in tow "Star!" she held out her arms as the two Butterfly's shared a hug "It has been so long since we were able to 'hang out' like normal people." Eclipsa commented. Globgor stepped forward "Yes. These past two months have been very busy. But now we are ready to relax like regular people! I even wore pants for the occasion!" Globgor exclaimed proudly as he showed off the blue jeans he was wearing "I feel so normal!"

As Star and Eclipsa gave a small clap for his effort, Marco spoke up for the first time "Uh, it's good to see you guys. Star told me you wanted to try some Earth stuff?" Eclipsa turned her attention to Marco "Oh indeed! We want to see how humans have fun!" Star grabbed her hand "Oh I got the perfect place to take you!"

OXOXOXOX

The four stood at the entrance to the Echo Creek mall "This is the mall! It's like one store with a bunch of smaller stores inside of it!" Star explained.

"Oh yes, Moon mentioned River's escapades here!" Eclipsa remembered. Her eyes stopped on a nearby store "Ooh, all that black clothing is just my style!" "Let's roll!" Star joined her.

The two ladies went into the store 'Edgy on Purpose', leaving Marco and Globgor standing awkwardly with each other. Both looked around nervously, not knowing what to say "So…Globgor, is there anywhere you want to look at?" Marco asked "I have never been shopping, what kind of things are there?" Globgor wondered. Marco led him over to a directory "This map has a list of everything here and what they sell. What are you interested in?" Globgor thought for a moment.

OXOXOXOX

The guys ended up going into a music store; the guy at the register looked at Globgor and gave a thumbs up "Dude, those are some sick pants, man!" Globgor awkwardly waved back and smiled "Um…thank you?" he leaned over to whisper to Marco "Why did he think my pants were ill? And what is a 'dude'?" Marco sighed "This is going to take a while."

Marco took his eyes off the size-shifter for a second and turned to see he was gone "Globgor?" he found him a few feet away staring at the Pineapple products. Globgor held an UPod up to his ear "How does the music get in this box without magic?" he wondered as he shook it "This one must be broken, no music is coming from it." Marco came over and connected earbuds to the UPod, Globgor hesitantly put the buds in his ears "AH. NOW I HEAR THE MUSIC." He spoke loudly "IT IS ENJOYABLE."

OXOXOXOX

Eclipsa's eyes shined as Star led her into the candy store "This is all…candy!?" Eclipsa looked around in disbelief.

"Yep, Earth has so many more flavors than corn and snookers!" Star led her adopted granny to a display full of various treats. Eclipsa's mouth watered "I want to try everything!"

The queen's eyes became captivated by one display "Star! This one has peanut butter…INSIDE the chocolate!" she squealed. Star came over and handed her a bag and some tongs "Let's try it all!"

Marco and Globgor passed the candy store and saw their girls filling up bags with candy "I told Star to save this place for last! The two of them are going to fill up on candy before lunch!" Marco groaned.

"Speaking of lunch, what do humans eat?" Globgor rubbed his stomach "I have had nothing but corn for 3 days now and I would like to try something else."

Seeing as no one wanted to sit down and eat a real lunch, Marco guided Globgor over to the Pretzel stand "Two salted pretzels please!" Marco ordered. Globgor peered into the pretzel case as the lady behind the counter grabbed two pretzels from it and handed it to Marco as he paid. Marco handed Globgor one of the pretzels as he took a bite of his own.

Globgor sniffed it for a moment before taking a cautious bite. The salty, buttery flavor was a pleasant surprise to him "What are these? How are they all twisted?"

"It's called a pretzel, it's like bread covered in butter and salt. You can even dip it in cheese sauce." Marco told him "Well I like it! It's amazing how good food can be without mewman in it!" Globgor happily finished his pretzel.

A Mewman happened to walk by as Globgor said the last sentence, he glared at the king. Globgor realized what he said and waved him off "Do not worry. I am a vegetarian now!" he reassured the stranger. The guy kept his glare fixed on the Globgor as he walked off.

Globgor's smile faded into a dejected frown, Marco put a hand of his shoulder "Hey, I know you don't mean it." He tried to reassure him.

"Thank you Marco. But it is more than my joking about eating people." Globgor sighed.

His gaze looked around them at all the people. Humans and a couple monsters paid Globgor no mind, but nearly every Mewman that walked past watched him closely, as if he were to strike at any moment. Marco picked up on the looks people were sending their way "A lot of the Mewman's still don't like me or the other monsters. They still believe in all the tall tales passed around from the days of old." Globgor softened his expression "But I am thankful to the humans I have seen." Marco blinked in confusion "Huh?" "The monster's I expected to be alright with me, but it took me by surprise how much your people are accepting of monsters. Four humans even like my pants!" a man walked by and gave Globgor a flirty wink "Nice pants." "…now it is five humans."

OXOXOXOX

The four had finally converged together and were now resting at a table on the edge of the food court and arcade. Globgor happily munched on french fries as the girls showed off their candy "And look! This one has ice cream under the rice surface!" Eclipsa held a piece of mochi up to her husband "How is it not melted right now?" Globgor asked with fries coming out of his mouth. A small leak of ice cream on the side of it dripped down from her hand, Eclipsa shoved the whole thing in her mouth at once to keep it from dripping.

Star was eating some pieces from her own haul and handed some to Marco "Wan shum?" she asked with a mouth full of candy "I'm good." Marco answered as he sipped his soda.

As Star swallowed her candy, Eclipsa poked her shoulder "Star, what is that place with all the flashing lights?" she pointed to the arcade. Star got out of her seat and helped Eclipsa up as well "Guys, I found our next stop!

The quartet entered the arcade and Star led Eclipsa to a nearby machine "Guitar Protagonist! I think you'll like this one Eclipsa!" The dark queen grabbed the guitar from the rack as Star put a quarter in. Star pressed the buttons until the song selection came up, Eclipsa scrolled through and picked the one she wanted. She got the hang of the controls pretty quickly and was shredding through the song.

The boys stood back and watched them as Globgor gave a loving sigh "I love it when she plays guitar, even when it's just a game."

Marco looked at Star who was cheering Eclipsa on as she sang along to the words, his own features softened at the sight. Globgor gave the boy a knowing look as they stood behind and watched the girls play another round.

"What other game machines are there?" Globgor asked Marco.

"Here, let's look around." Marco led them through the labyrinth of games.

As Marco rambled off what the different games were, one caught Globgor's attention "Marco, what is this game?" Marco turned to see the game Globgor was asking about. It was a fighting game called 'Death Killing 2: Punching the Pain Away'

"Uh, this is kind of a violent one." Marco responded unsure. Globgor looked confused "There are violent games?" he looked on the screen to see a buff man punching demonic zombies that clawed their way out from under the earth. The man on screen pulled out a weapon and the next thing they knew, the screen was covered in pixelated blood "Huh that was not so bad." Globgor looked with the boy who was staring in horror at the gore on display.

Globgor gave a hearty laugh at his reaction "Oh young Marco, I have seen much worse than that." This peaked Marco's interest "Worse than this?"

Putting a quarter into the machine, Globgor started playing as he told a story "Back when I was younger, my father was put in charge of the monster army. He did not know about my relationship with Eclipsa, so he sent me to aid in the war against Queen Solaria. Our forces ended up at a stalemate, until The Solarian soldiers came in. To fight against them, my father summoned the Devils of Ragnarok."

"What are those?" Marco asked as Globgor cut a zombie's head off.

"It is just a chainsaw." Globgor remarked "No, not in the game. What are the Devils of Ragnarok?" Marco clarified.

"Ah those! They were a group of beasts infused with the power of the embodiment of destruction itself, Ragnarok. Anything impaled by their tails would instantly crumble to dust." Globgor remembered with a serious expression "They were the only things that could stand a chance against the Solarians. An epic battle occurred near the end of Queen Solaria's reign, the Devils and Solarians destroyed each other in a bloodbath like no other. That was when we assumed all the Solarians were wiped out, but you know the rest of that."

"But what about the Devils?" Marco asked, slightly worried.

"Eh, I am pretty sure almost all of them were killed as well." Globgor replied nonchalantly as he entered the boss fight.

"Almost?!" Marco repeated.

Globgor's brow furrowed as he focused on winning the game, his hands moving rapidly as his character punched the giant squid in the face. With an amazing combo he punched the squid so hard it exploded into calamari "Yes! I have won the game!" Globgor cheered.

The words 'Level 2' came up on screen and Globgor stopped cheering "There is more!" his voice sounded like a mix of excitement and slight disappointment. He resumed his controls as Marco continued watching him play.

OXOXOXOX

After finishing the game, the guys took to a racing game. Marco was in the lead while Globgor had somehow managed to drive around backwards and was doing the track in reverse "I do not think my car should be doing this." Globgor noted in concern.

Passing the finish line, Marco gave a victory 'Woohoo!' He reached into his pocket for another quarter. He could not feel any and realized they were out "Sorry Globgor, I'm out of quarters." He apologized. Globgor got out of the seat "It is alright. Me and Eclipsa should be heading back soon."

Heading back over the Guitar Protagonist, the guys found it devoid of their lovers. Searching around, they spotted Eclipsa and Star at a claw machine. The girls were pleading that the black plush spider stay in the claw, but alas it fell.

"What'cha doin?" Marco asked as the two approached the claw "Well I wanted to get this little spider for Meteora, but the claw keeps dropping it before it can get in the hole." Eclipsa pointed to the spider. Without another word, Globgor shrunk down and when inside the prize slot. He jumped into the main part and snatched the spider before coming out "For you, my darkest star." Globgor presented his wife with the spider doll which she happily grabbed "Aw, thank you dear!" she pulled him into a hug.

OXOXOXOX

The group exited the mall and began heading towards the spot the carriage was waiting at. Star and Eclipsa talked amongst themselves as Marco and Globgor walked a few feet behind them.

"Today was a fun day." Globgor told Marco "This was just the break we needed. Eclipsa has been stressed out over all that has been happening, I am thankful to see her so happy again." Globgor watched his wife with a gentle smile.

"You should be thanking Star, not me. She's the one who thought the mall would be fun." Marco told him, setting his sights on his girlfriend "Star's always been able to help bring out the best in people. If it wasn't for her, I would still be nodding at my old crush and wearing helmets in the gym shower." Marco admitted.

"Yes, Eclipsa told me how when she was unfrozen, Star was the only one who believed in her. If it was not for Star, I'm pretty sure me and my love would never have been able to live together like we do now." Globgor responded "She is a great girl; I completely understand why Eclipsa has chosen her."

That last sentence stood out to Marco "Chosen her? For what?" he asked.

Globgor thought to himself for a moment before responding "You'll find out when you're older."

The group approached the carriage, Eclipsa and Globgor got in and waved goodbye to the younger duo, who waved back.

"So, what did you think about human culture, dear?" Eclipsa asked

"Darling, we need to get the chefs to learn how to make pretzels."


	8. It's Terror Time Again

**Sorry for the wait, had a lot of stuff going on. **

**Now for a quick note, I am well aware that it is the middle of July and not Halloween. After Cleaved I started planning this and have already made a plan and short summary of every chapter planned for this fic. These stories run in chronological order so regardless of the time of year, I will post the holiday chapters.**

**Honestly this chapter was not planned to be creepy, but somehow it ended up that way. **

* * *

Ding-dong

Hearing the sound of the doorbell, Mrs. Diaz rushed over to answer it as she held a bowl of candy in her arm. She opened the door with her free arm and saw a group of people she knew well.

"Trick or Treat!"

Star was the only one to say the famous words, the rest behind her watched as she opened up a bag in front of Mrs. Diaz. Star was currently wearing a cute Godzilla costume with only her head visible as it stuck out between the mouth. Behind her stood Queen Eclipsa and Meteora, the queen dressed up as a vending machine while her infant daughter wore a 'snookers' costume as she was strapped in front. Floating above was Pony Head who was not wearing a costume.

"Oh why don't you all look festive tonight!" Mrs. Diaz greeted the group as they walked through the front door, giving a piece of candy to everyone as they made their way in. Eclipsa stared in wonder at the chocolatey goodness in her hand and in her daughters bag "So they really just give you candy if you say that?" she asked her granddaughter "Yep! Say it when people open the door and they have to give you a treat. If they don't you play a trick on them." Star explained to her grannie.

Star made her way into the kitchen to see Marco in his usual attire, finishing up the make up on his little sisters face "Marco? Why aren't you in costume yet?" Star wondered as she approached. Marco put the last bit of glitter on Mariposa's cheeks as he answered "Well me and Tom are planning something special! I can't put on my part without him." he turned Mariposa around to show Star the flower fairy costume she had on.

Mariposa giggled as Star held her "Aww, she looks so pretty! Are you excited for your first Halloween little Mariposa?" Star cooed at the baby. Hearing the name, Meteora cried out for her friend from the other room. Eclipsa came into the kitchen with the anxious baby and approached the others "Well it looks like Meteora can't wait to go out and get candy with her little friend." Eclipsa placed Meteora next to Mariposa and the two babies started laughing and patting each other's faces. Marco silently mourned his make-up job was undone within a minute of finishing.

Mr. Diaz passed by wearing his old pumpkin suit and grabbed his daughter "Ok, there will be plenty of time to play later. The sun is going down so now is the perfect time to start trick or treating!"

The adults and babies went out as Marco ran up to his room to grab his costume, Pony Head reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled something blue over her head "Oooh, are you finally putting on your costume Pony Head?" Star asked as her interest rose "Oh you know it girl. Check me out! Bam!" Pony turned around to show that she was wearing…a costume of herself.

Marco picked this moment to come downstairs and see his friend wearing a poorly made suit of herself "Pony, why?" he questioned as he shook his head.

"Ok, so like you guys told me to dress up as whatever I wanted to be. And as I am already perfect the way I am, I wanted to be myself!" Pony Head explained. As she admired her own costume, she saw what Marco was planning to wear "See! Even Marco wants to be me!"

"What? No!" Marco denied, Star took a look at his costume to find that it was a giant grey horse head with legs "What is that thing Marco?" "Ok so me and Tom thought it would be funny if we teamed up and wore a two person horse costume. I've got the front and he has the back!" Marco seemed to think the idea was brilliant, but the girls thought otherwise.

"Ugh, can we just get to the stupid haunted house already?" Pony complained and floated to the front door. Marco pulled up the directions on his phone as they left the house and began walking "It should be a 10 minute walk from here." He noted "Great, we will arrive right on time to meet up with Tom and Janna."

OXOXOXOX

30 minutes later

Tom checked his phone again, watching the digital clock tick by "Where are they? I sent them the right address didn't I?" he turned to the person next to him.

Under a white bedsheet was Janna, she had drawn a face on the front with lots of black ink running from the mouth and her arms and legs were covered by matching black gloves and boots.

Janna plopped another piece of candy corn into her mouth through a small opening in her costume "Dude, it's gonna be fine. Pony Head probably stopped for a Pumpkin Spice Latte or something."

Moments later, Tom saw a blue floating thing heading towards them in the crowd "I think I see them!"

Sure enough, Star, Marco and Pony Head pushed through the crowd to see their friends. Star held onto Pony by the neck as she pulled her to the others "Sorry for the wait. Pony wanted a pumpkin spice latte so we stopped at the coffee shop…and then Pony started a fight with the barista." Star sighed in exasperation "What? That drink was too much spice and not enough pumpkin!" Pony defended herself.

Tom looked at Pony strangely "Are you…dressed as yourself?" Pony shot a glare at the demon "Yeah and I make a fabulous me! At least I am wearing a costume!"

"Oh I have a costume." Tom smirked. Marco ran up to his side and they both put on their halves of the horse costume "Behold!" the boys shouted as they combined.

The girls stared for a second before bursting into laughter. Marco and Tom gave each other a high five "I knew this suit would be killer!" Marco congratulated himself and Tom. Janna stopped her laughter for a moment "Yeah…a two headed horse is killer!" and she resumed laughing.

The boys looked at each other to see that they were both wearing the same horse head piece "Tom! You said you were gonna be the back?!" Marco cried in disbelief "Me?! I always had the front! You were the one who was supposed to be the back!" Tom matched Marco's annoyance.

The boys continued to argue over their costume as the Janna caught up with the girls "So Star, do you recognize my costume?" It took Star a moment but she gasped when she figured it out "Oh! You're Hungry Larry!" Janna nodded her head in confirmation. When Star said the name, Pony also recognized it "Hungry Larry? Isn't that like, a myth or something?" her response was greeted with a look of terror in both girls' eyes "He's real Pony." Star confirmed "Very real" Janna shuddered.

The talk of last year's events finally got Marco to return his focus to the rest of the group "Yeah, last year was the scariest Halloween that I will ever have!"

Tom darkly laughed to himself "Oh, if you think someone like Hungry Larry is scary. Then this house will be downright terrifying!" a scream filled the air and lighting flashed behind Tom to illustrate his point.

Following the sound of screams, the group turned to the building behind them. A hellish looking house with a banner hanging from the front gate that read 'Lucitor House of Horror'.

"Halloween is meant for scaring, right? We Lucitor's and the people of the underworld are meant for this holiday! So a lot of people from my kingdom, including my parents, got together to show Earthni the true meaning of terror!" Tom explained. Fire and ghostly souls erupted from the roof of the place, illuminating the house in a way that made it look as if it would come alive and swallow them all.

The girls grinned in grim delight as they wondered what awaited them. Marco took a step back and stared at the house hesitantly "Tom, are you sure this place is safe for non-demons? There is a lot of very real fire and demon-y stuff going on in there."

Tom brushed of Marco's concerns with a 'pssh' noise "It's all good Marco. We had someone test it out before we opened to the public."

OXOXOXOX

The previous night, Tom is standing near the exit of the house. Various crashing noises and pained grunts can be heard from the inside.

A deep voice could be heard asking "Now what does this lever do?" before a stream of fire erupted from the exit and barely missed Tom.

Walking out a moment later was River covered in scorch marks. Despite the burns, he seemed as pumped up as ever "Huzzah! This is a fine torture house! The brimstone and lava remind me of my hunting trip in the Molten Savannah!"

OXOXOXOX

"And then he mentioned that he was hunting some great pumpkin tonight with a guy in a bush." Tom recalled.

Tom's recap did not pacify Marco's fears, in fact it was actually increased "He called it a torture house!? What the heck is in there?!" Marco freaked out.

Tom pointed behind him "You could ask the girls, they already went in." Marco gazed behind Tom to see the back of Pony's costume float inside the door "Great." Marco deadpanned.

Marco and Tom adjusted their costume so it was only covering below their waists, walking to the front door and entering the house "Star?" Marco called out as they came into the first room. It seemed like just a regular haunted house inside, cheesy decorations, black lights, and the same blow up doll Mr. Diaz had used last year.

Marco let out a sigh of relief "Oh man, you really oversold this place Tom. This place isn't scary at all!"

Tom held up three fingers and counted "Three, two, one."

"What are yo-"Marco was cut off as the floor disappeared beneath them. Marco barely had a second to react before he and Tom were sent falling down into the dark abyss below. All Marco could do was scream and hold onto Tom for dear life.

OXOXOXOX

Hearing a high pitched scream coming above them, Janna looked to the ceiling "Hey, here they come." She told Star and Pony.

The ceiling opened to reveal the boys come crashing down into the cushioned floor. Marco and Tom struggled to stand up in their costume as they balanced on each other. Star ran over and offered her hand to the boys to help pull them up.

"Took you guys long enough, we were starting to think you chickened out." Janna approached them. Tom shot her a look "I am the prince of the underworld. I never chicken out!" Janna did not look convinced "Then how come I heard two screaming voices when you two were falling?" Tom did not give her a reply as he went forward to the next room, pulling Marco behind him in their attached costume.

OXOXOXOX

Going through the first room, the gang heard the sound of someone panicking and saying little 'no's to themselves; the room was decorated like an old studio, with film reels and aged posters strewn across the floor. Picking up on of the posters, Star saw an old drawing of a vampire "Hey, isn't this one of those old horror movies from earth?" she passed the poster to Marco "Yeah, this is Dracula." He confirmed.

Picking up more posters, Marco found they were all classic horror movie monsters "Their all old scary movie stuff. Maybe this room is a haunted theater." He mused.

A shriek caught their attention and they turned the corner to find a small movie theater. An old black and white film played from a projector, the screen filled with the image of an old swamp monster. The theater was empty save for one person in the middle with long hair.

Rushing over to the shrieking maiden, Star made her way through the rows of chairs with the others trailing behind her. Getting closer Star saw that the terrified person was really short; she figured it was a lost child. As the figure let out another horrified scream, Star sat next to them and gave them a gentle pat on the head "Hey, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a movie." Star tried to calm the figure with a soothing voice.

"Star Butterfly?!"

That was not the voice of a little girl, or any female for that matter. Recoiling back Star was able to make out the person in the glow of the projector.

"Ludo?!" Star gasped in shock.

Here before her was Ludo, he was wearing a long orange wig with small pigtails on top. His body was covered in a red bodysuit, showing his not so fabulous figure.

"Star Butterfly you've come to save me!" Ludo tried to leap into Star's arms, only for her to dodge and send Ludo on a collision course with Marco and Tom.

"Ludo, what are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?" Star questioned as Ludo got up and dusted himself off. Leaving Marco and Tom groaning in pain on the floor "Do you not recognize my costume? I am the hot headed female Kusua, from the Japanese animation 'Get that boy in the robot'" Ludo explained with a flip of his fake hair "As for why I am here…I'm not really sure. People were just walking into this old house and I followed. I thought this would be some wild party, but nope! It's just some movie without color and with terrifying creatures in it!" he pointed to the obviously fake swamp monster on the screen.

Star held her forehead and sighed "Ludo, this is a haunted house. It's made to scare people."

Marco and Tom got up off of the floor and inspected the movie "Tom, What's with this room? These old movies aren't even that scary." Marco pointed out "Well except to Ludo."

"So I may not have been…supervising these rooms like I was supposed to. After I saw the dropping floor I figured the rest of these demons have the place covered. How was I supposed to know someone would make a room that wasn't really scary?" Tom admitted.

Janna leaned over one of the theater seats to face the rest "So what you're saying is…you don't even know what's inside your family's own haunted house."

Unable to come up with a good response, Tom huffed and crossed his arms. Pony floated over and added her own thoughts "So like if you don't know what's in this place? Do you know how to reach the exit?"

"Um, yeah. We just follow the rooms; going through all the rooms gets you to the end." Tom answered.

Marco felt a tug on his leg, looking down to see Ludo holding the ear of the horse head "Can I come with you guys? I want to get out of here, this place is horrifying!" The small kappa begged.

Marco and Star exchanged nods and Star knelt down to Ludo's level "Sure, we'll get you out of here." Star told Ludo. Her boyfriend poked at a cobweb made of silly string "I wouldn't be worried about getting scared here. It looks like the Lucitors have lost their touch."

OXOXOXOX

"I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID! THE LUCITOR'S DID NOT LOSE THEIR TOUCH!"

The group was currently riding in a rickety wooden mine car, zooming over hot lava as the tracks that guided them got more unstable as they went further. Following close behind was a ghostly being with a dismembered figure, his head twisted until it was upside down, and his limbs bend in ways they shouldn't. The ghost was covering in iron chains hastily thrown in an attempt to delay its approach. Contact with the lava sent flames burning onto the chains and causing the ghost to cry out in an inhuman screech.

"Just a little further! I see the exit coming up!" Star shouted, hoping her friends could hear her over Ludo's unending screams "It's gonna get us! It's gonna get us!"

The ghost detached an arm with a sickening crunch and launched it at the cart. The arm caught the edge of Janna's costume and tried to pull her backwards into the lava "This is awesome!" she cheered. Tom reached over and pried the hand off of her and sent it tumbling into the lava.

"Brace yourselves!" Marco shouted as the track went out and sent the whole cart flying into a hole in the wall. The cart skid along the metal tunnel they had now entered and came to a screeching halt. The group watched the ghost burst into flames when it tried to follow them. Taking a moment to breathe, everyone stepped out of the cart and continued on foot through the unending tunnel. Tom was the first to break the silence "So…I am pretty sure that was my mom's room. That ghost guy is in her book group."

Star pinched out a tiny flame on the tip of her suit's tail "So we went through the hallway of poisonous gases, the chamber of unending torture, the impalement garden, the house of killer clowns, and the cart chase through hell." Star summed up "So far so good. How many more rooms?" she turned her attention to Tom.

"The next one is most likely the last. The only room left should be the one my dad designed." Tom told the group.

They approached a door at the end of the tunnel, the door covered in demon runes. Tom stepped forward to translate them "The terror's one has faced are in the past, upon entering the face of death will be your last."

"Cool. Looks like we're gonna die." Janna said casually.

Opening the door, the group was greeted by a pitch black room. Once everyone was inside, the door shut behind them and blue embers lit up the walls like torches. With the room now dimly lit, the group found that the room was barren except for a large mirror covering an entire wall.

"A mirror? What's so scary about a mirror?" Star asked, going up to the mirror and poking at her reflection.

Ludo and Pony Head went and stared at their reflections as well "I don't know B-Fly, Ludo's face is pretty scary to me." Pony joked. Ludo slowly turned his head to her "I am right here."

Tom studied the mirror closely "Why does this mirror look so familiar?"

Janna pulled her sheet off of her head so she could get a look at her face "Every mirror is the same to me."

The lights flickered on and off for a few moments before plunging the room back into darkness. The mirror began to light up and inside was frozen reflections of everyone. Flickering into darkness one more time, the mirror lit back up a moment later with a notable difference. The reflections frozen in the mirror were now rotting corpses.

"AAHHH!" they all jumped back and screamed, Ludo passing out at the sight of his own dead body.

"Is that-are those-us?!" Marco's voice raised a few octaves.

"Oh no." Tom froze in realization "Now I recognize that mirror."

No sooner did the words leave his mouth, the mirror warped and the rotting doppelganger's came to unlife and phased out of the mirror. Their flesh smelled as bad as they looked, and their unfocused eyes made contact with their counterparts. Pony floated down and under Janna's sheet "WHAT IN THE SWEET NAME OF PONY ARE THOSE?!"

The corpses took slow yet haunting steps towards the group, reaching their arms out as if to grab them. Star and Marco clung tightly to each other as everyone huddled against the wall "This has to be an illusion. These can't possibly be real, right Tom?" Marco looked to Tom for an explanation. However, the demon stood frozen as the undead came closer.

"Tom!?" Star called to him with rising panic.

Tom stood unmoving as the undead were only inches away. The undead Marco reached out to grab Tom. His friends stood in stunned silence as the corpse was only a finger away.

"NOPE!"

Finally moving again, Tom grabbed the Marco corpse by the wrist and swiftly set it ablaze. The flames spread over the corpse as it cried in pain.

"NOPE!" he knocked the corpse into the rest of its kind. As the corpses were momentarily stunned, Tom grabbed his friends and Ludo and had them hold on to his back, the whole time he kept saying "Nope, nope, nope nope nope!"

Once he had everyone, Tom cast a flaming circle around them. The flames burst outward and incinerated the undead copies as Tom screamed out a final "NOOOOPE!"

The undead burned into ash as they let out pained screams, sounds the rest of the ground would have nightmares of for a long time. Using the large amount of fire in the room, Tom used it to boost his flying and shoot him and the others straight through the wall and out of the haunted house.

Crashing onto the pavement outside, everyone groaned and rubbed their sore bodies. Ludo shot up with a scream as he regained consciousness "We're alive?! I'm alive!" he cheered before he felt something shift beneath him "Yes, we're alive. Now get off of me!" Janna pushed the kappa aside as she sat up.

Breathing heavily, Tom got up on his feet and held his hand to his heart "That was the Necro-Mirror! It creates a zombie version of those reflected in it. Why the my kingdom is it doing in there?!"

Tom continued to pace in circles as he called his dad on the phone to complain about the experience, everyone else just looked to each other blankly.

"How about we go get some candy?" Star suggested.

"Sure." "Works for me." "I'm game." Her friends agreed like nothing had ever happened.


	9. We're Going To The Zoo

**Well I went to the Svtfoe Boba Meetup again this year! It's always a blast hanging out with other Starfans.**

* * *

"Star, how much longer do I have to wear this blindfold?"

"Just a teeny bit further!"

Walking around with a blindfold on was not how Marco expected any date to start. As soon as he met Star at his door she put the black cloth over his eyes and led him by the hand as they walked. If it was only a few feet it would not have bothered him as much, but Star had dragged him blind for 2 miles. He trusted Star with his life, but even then crossing a busy street blindfolded was thinning his trust.

"Aaaaand stop!" Marco heard her say, holding her hand in front of him to keep the blindfolded boy from wandering any further.

Marco could feel her stepping behind him to untie the blindfold. The bright sunlight stung his eyes once they were free of the darkness. Blinking the pain away, Marco's vision focused and he saw Star standing in front of a gate "Ta-da!" she waved her hands out to showcase the structure behind her. Turning upwards, Marco saw some writing above the gate. In big red letters were the words 'Mewni Zoo'.

"Mewni Zoo? I don't remember this place when I was on Mewni." Marco noted.

"It's brand new! Since Echo Creek doesn't have a zoo, and Mewni's got a crazy amount of weird creatures humans have never seen, they built this place to share Mewni's fauna with the world!" Star's eyes lit up as she spoke. Her excitement was getting Marco pumped up as well "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!"

Approaching the ticket booth, Marco eyed the sign listing the price of admission "Two tickets…650 dollars…" at this point, Marco wasn't even surprised to that number as the price. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his latest wad of Turdina royalty cash. Slowly he pushed the money under the glass, as a pair of tickets moved towards him at the same speed. He handed the tickets to Star as he kept his eyes on the ticket booth with a suspicious gaze.

Star put her arm around Marco's shoulders, bringing his attention back to her "Sorry, bout the price." She apologized.

Letting out a sigh, Marco leaned a little closer to her "its fine. But seriously, why is it always 650?! This has to be some kind of conspiracy against my royalty checks."

"Hey wait…if St. Olga's is cut off from this dimension, how do you still get your checks?" Star realized.

"It's actually a really interesting story, you see-"Marco begun to tell his tale, but stopped as he spotted a nearby sign through the entrance. It was written in big bold red paint 'No Hunting inside! Especially you River Butterfly!' reading the sign, Marco silently turned to Star for answers "Trust me, you do not want to know."

OXOXOXOX

The couple stood in front of a directory, trying to decide what to see first. Star held her hand to her face in a thinking pose "Dang, this place has a good variety." She nodded in approval. Marco kept going over the names of the creatures showcased "I expected unicorns and gnomes, but most of these I've never even heard of."

If Star's hearts weren't stickers, they would have turned into lightbulbs as she was struck by an idea "I got it!" she grabbed a map and used a glitter marker to connect the dots along the paths. She finished her work and presented it to Marco, the dots connected into a heart shape.

"A heart?" Marco asked.

"Yeah! For this lovely little date, we'll follow the path and check out the stuff that the lines of the heart go through!" Star beamed with pride.

"Then it's settled." Marco agreed "Lead the way m'lady."

"Aw Marco, Don't call me that."

OXOXOXOX

The first exhibit that was crossed in the map, was a cage filled with plants native to the Forest of Certain Death. Marco held Star back as she leaned forward on the railing "Let me go! I can't see the Camobears!" "I don't think getting any closer will help you see them." Marco managed to pull her away from the edge.

He motioned for a plaque beside them and read aloud "Camobears, a carnivorous species that live in forests and dark places. Their unique ability to blend into any environment makes them appear to be invisible. They can only be seen in front of metal or other non-organic objects."

Star pouted "So we can't even see them? What a ripoff!"

Down below, a Mewman worker cautiously approached the Camobear cage with a bucket of meat. He nervously darted his eyes for any sign of movement once he stood a foot away from the bars. He carefully slid the meat under the bars, pushing it with a stick. When the meat lay untouched, he breathed in relief. Moments later he felt something grab at his pants and pull him into the cage. Hearing the man's screams of terror, Star and Marco slowly backed away from the exhibit.

OXOXOXOX

"Look Marco! A native Mewni Boarslug!"

Turning his sight to where his girlfriend was pointing, Marco saw a large boar like creature that was covered in green sludge "Ew, What is that green stuff." Marco recoiled.

"That my dear Marco, would be mucus." Star stated.

Marco looked away in disgust "That's-that is so gross!" he saw another animal in the next pen over. This one was a tiny orange and red hamster like creature, one way too small for such a huge cage "Aw, what's this little guy?" Marco cooed.

Taking her attention away from the Boarslug, Star leaned over to see what Marco was fawning at "Uh you might not wanna get to close to that." She warned.

The little creature hopped over and climbed up some rocks, leaving it within inches of Marco "Aw, hey little guy." Marco reached out to give it a scratch under the chin.

The creature thanked him with a firebreath to the face.

Wincing as her scorched boyfriend collapsed on the ground, Star watched as the little critter happily hopped away "And that Marco, is why you should never get too close to a Burnble."

"Noted." Marco weakly coughed.

OXOXOXOX

Next up was a petting zoo; Star opted to go inside while Marco waited on a nearby bench. It was too soon to be trusting small animals again.

Star's attention shifted from one animal to the next; unable to decide which would be the first one to get some love from her. A pig-goat approached Star and gazed at her with sparkling eyes "Baaaa" it bleated quietly.

The instant Star noticed the Pig-goat she gasped with joy "Oh my goodness! You are the cutest pig-goat I have ever seen!" she picked it up and hugged it tightly.

The little guy gave her a gentle lick as she continued to squee over it "Marco! You have to see this pig-goat!" she called over her shoulder.

"It doesn't breath fire or have anything else that could kill me does it?" Marco called back, cupping his mouth with his hands to help get is voice across.

"No! Just come over and hug this little fella!" Star brought the pig-goat closer to the edge of the pen.

Getting up, Marco went inside the pen to see what had Star all excited. The pig-goat was much smaller than any he had seen before, its fur was also a shade of pearly white opposed to the usual tan coloring "Hey, this guy is pretty cute." Marco admitted, taking the pig-goat from Star's arms into his own "Is this one a baby?"

"No, I think this one is just tiny." Star booped it on the snout "Plus he's got such a strange coat. Compared to all the other pig-goats, this guy's fur is all shiny and stuff."

The pig-goat snorted and wiggled its legs wildly, giving Marco the sense that it was done with the petting. He placed the pig-goat on the ground and it slowly waddled away. Watching the pig-goat leave, Star beamed at Marco "You know what these pig-goats remind me of?" she asked coyly. Marco's smile softened, his mind remembering the same thing as her "I think I have some idea."

The two of them leaned in to kiss…only for a Giant Floating Baby Head to come between them, pushing them apart. As the baby head floated onward, Star and Marco couldn't help but stare at it "I had no idea Mewni had giant floating baby head's." Marco commented. Star gaped at the baby in bewilderment "We don't. I have no idea where that came from."

OXOXOXOX

Happily munching on a churro, Star pulled Marco along as they walked through the so called 'hall of oddities'. The whole hallway a mishmash of different creatures too weird for description…and a very hairy man with glasses who was apparently mistaken for a werewolf.

"After this place, we have one final place to look at!" Star held the churro with her mouth as she fished the map out of her purse "The Wing of Wonder! Home to all kinds of Mewnian birds. Keep out River!" she read the description aloud.

The hallway led straight into the Wing of Wonder, the air became cooler and the lights became brighter as they stepped through the entryway. Birds of every color flew behind glass walls, some with more dangerous abilities were kept in smaller cages.

"Woah, how many kinds of birds are in this room?" Marco wondered.

Star leaned closer and whispered to him "Actually, most of these are the same kind of bird. They just painted them." Sure enough, when Marco looked closer he saw paint dripping from one's wing.

The two approached the center of the room, a beautiful garden stood under glass in the center. Unlike the rest of the birdcages, this one had only one occupant. Star pushed her face up against the glass to get a better view. A bush rustled on the side, a slender beak poked out for a moment before retreating back into the bush.

"Don't be shy." Star gently whispered. Marco raised an eyebrow "I don't think it can hear you from behind the glass." His lips were then greeted to a finger poking them shut as Star shushed him.

The bird inside finally burst from its hiding place, flying gracefully around the garden until it landed in water fountain in the center. The bird was pure white with a vibrant blue on the tips of its wings and tail, the tail itself was like a phoenix with long blue and turquoise feathers trailing behind it. The beak was a deep indigo, small and slender like the legs perched under its body. The head has simple except for around the eyes, beautiful patterns matching the tail that made the bird appear as if it was wearing eye makeup. It had beautiful crystal blue eyes that caught Star's in a heartbeat. The blonde gasping as she recognized the bird.

"Marco! It's a Love Dove!"

"A Love Dove?"

"The rarest birds in all of Mewni! They gather once a year to lay their eggs; each Love Dove is born with a soulmate that they seek out once they can fly. The two birds live their whole lives together and are super lovey dovey with one another; it's how they got their name." Star explained.

"Wow. How do you know all of that?" Marco asked.

Star gasped offended "Marco, I am a woman with an interest in the finest things that nature has to offer!" "You fell asleep during a documentary didn't you?" Marco knew his girlfriend well "Yeah…I fell asleep during a documentary." She admitted.

A thought crossed Star's mind and she set her sights back on the bird, her eyes darting all over the garden "Where's the other one? Love Doves are inseparable; they can't live without the other." There was no sign of another bird living in the cage with it. Upon looking closer at the bird, Star could tell that it was miserable. Its beautiful feathers drooped and dragged on the floor, and the only sounds it made were quiet croaks.

Star teared up at the sight of this majestic bird's sadness "You're all alone…"

A janitor passed by behind Star and she yanked him by the arm "You! Where is the other Love Dove?!" the janitor eyed her in confusion "Uh miss…what's a Love Dove?"

Marco came over and gently lifted Star's arm off of the janitor's "That bird in in the garden right here. That's called a Love Dove. They live in pairs." Marco recapped. The janitor's boredom did not change at this news "Oh, well no one here knew what kind of bird that is. We just knew it was pretty, so we placed it in the center."

"Well it needs to get back to its lover!" Star demanded "Not my problem." The janitor brushed her off and went on his way.

Looking back at the lone Love Dove, Star sadly placed her palm on the glass; the soft tap caused the Dove to turn towards Star with pleading eyes. Without a second thought, Star made her decision "Don't you worry Love Dove. Me and Marco here are gonna break you out of this joint!"

"Wait, what?" Marco joined her beside the glass "We can't do that! Freeing an animal from the zoo is like, illegal I think!"

"Oh come on, it wouldn't be our first prison break." Star reminded him "Think about it Marco, this bird has a mate that it loves with all its little birdy heart. Right now, those two literal love birds are separated from each other against their will, wondering if they are ever going to see each other again. Don't you know how much that hurts?"

Her words struck a chord in Marco, memories of the day they destroyed magic flashed in his mind. The pain he felt before the worlds merged was worse than being stabbed by the unicorn. His desperation to reach the final portal and the heartbreak of believing he had failed still stung fresh despite having happened about 4 months ago.

"…Yeah, I do." Marco quietly answered. Taking a deep breath, he met Star's eyes "Ok, I'm in. But how are we going to get this Dove out of here? This seems a lot harder than freeing a lobster at a restaurant, do you have a plan?

"As a matter of fact, I do."

OXOXOXOX

The security guard manning the aviary was reading a magazine as he sat at his booth, complete and utter boredom evident on his face. From the open doorway beside him, Star nearly ran past the man and skidded to a halt as she stopped a foot from the doorway "Can I help you miss?" he asked apathetically "You gotta get everyone out of this room! The Camobear got loose and is headed this way!" Star shouted.

This news got the guards attention and his boredom was swiftly replaced with panic. He grabbed his megaphone and stepped out of the booth "EVERYONE THE CAMOBEAR IS LOOSE AND COMING THIS WAY! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!"

The crowd inside the Wing of Wonder started screaming as everyone rushed to the exit. The janitor from earlier had the unfortunate timing of mopping right in front of the exit and was promptly trampled. Star hid back behind the security booth and stood guard for Marco as he snuck through the rabid crowd.

Approaching the Love Dove's glass prison, Marco reached into his pocket and pulled out the Burnble "Ok, Burnble use flamethrower!" he whispered to the tiny critter. The Burnble nodded and sent out a burst of fire that melted a medium sized hole in the glass, just big enough that the Love Dove could get through.

Star dashed from her hiding spot and poked her head into the opening "Pssst! Love Dove, you ready to quit being a jailbird?" she called in a hushed shout. The Love Dove peaked up at the sound of Star's voice and ran over to her. Squeezing through the hole, the Love Dove spread its wings and flew into Star's arms "All set! Let's get the heck out!"

Marco drapped his hoodie on the bird as they reentered the panicked crowd, the security unable to figure out if the Camobear was really missing or not since the cage always looked empty. As they passed by the Burnble's pen, Marco gently dropped him off on the rock "I'll never forget you!" he whispered in a hurry. The Burnble watched him leave and chattered to itself; subtitles translated his noises as 'As will I, you were the best comrade I have ever known.'

By the time security was able to confirm the Camobear was still in the cage (by letting the same employee that fed him get mauled again), Star, Marco and the Love Dove were long gone.

"Well we freed the bird, now how do we get it back to its mate?" Marco asked. The Love Dove flew out of Star's arms and gave out a loud 'breeeeeee' noise. Its voice was high pitched, yet beautiful. The silence that followed was broken by a deeper version of the same noise coming from close by. The bird flew in the direction of the sound, Star and Marco following close behind.

The sound led them to the side of a cliff, the same one Star and Marco climbed the night of the cleaving. The Dove hovered in the air and gave the same call from before, the deeper one answering back as a bird flew from the tree at the top and towards the group below. The Love Dove brightened at the sight of another of its kind coming to it. The other Love Dove was slightly bulky in comparison the more slender one that had been freed.

The two birds flew in circles with each other as they let out happy sounds. They flew so gracefully that it seemed as if they were dancing. Happy for the reunited birds, Star and Marco joined their own hands and moved closer together "Look how happy they are." Star cooed "We did the right thing." Marco returned.

The Love Dove's stopped their dance and flew up to Star and Marco, both making a noise that sounded like a 'thank you' before flying back up the cliff and diving into the tree, making a heart shape as they flew.

The human/mewman couple watched with smiles on their faces, leaning in together as they simply enjoyed being with the other.


	10. You and Me Together

**So this chapter was originally two different chapters, but I decided the two plots would work better together than seperate.**

* * *

It was peaceful mornings like this that Eclipsa loved, listening to the sound of birds chirping as she sipped her tea in the garden. Globgor was handling Meteora and a 'Do not disturb' sign was plastered on the door so the people knew not to disturb the queen. Everything seemed perfect.

"AAAAAAH!"

Until the alarmed shout of her adopted granddaughter scared not only the birds but Eclipsa as well, causing her tea to splash onto the lap of her dress "Oh darn."

She went back inside and through the corridor that led to Star's room, she peaked her head inside "Is everything alright Star?"

Everything seemed normal; weapons cluttered the floor and Laser puppies napped on discarded leggings in a heap to the side. Star herself was frantically running back and forth as she simultaneously brushed her hair and got her boots on "Not really! I was supposed to wake up 20 minutes ago to get ready!"

"Ready for what?" Eclipsa asked as she came inside. The brush had gotten stuck in Star's hair and her boots had been put on the wrong feet, Star groaned as she checked her phone "Today is November 28th! It's Marco's 16th birthday!" she held her phone calendar out for Eclipsa to see "Last year we were so tired from the night before that all we did was eat cake in the castle! No party, no friends, no exploding pinatas, just cake."

As Star swapped her boots around, Eclipsa untangled the brush from her hair and began brushing it herself "Well I for one love cake." She commented fondly.

"Yeah, me too." Star inwardly drooled at the thought of birthday cake "But on Earth, turning 16 is a big deal! I planned a huge adventure for us and at the end of it is a big party for Marco with almost all of our friends!"

"Almost?"

"He banned Pony Head and Janna. Pony would hog the spotlight and last year Janna's gift to him was his own wallet." Star explained.

"Ah. Well it sounds like a really fun day for you kids." Eclipsa smiled "Just save me a piece of his cake."

"Will do Eclips-Achoo!" Star let out a sneeze mid-sentence. It was only a small sneeze, but it caused Eclipsa to take a closer look at Star's face. Her face looked a little red and flushed, she was also sweating on her forehead.

Removing her glove, Eclipsa held her hand to Star's forehead "Star? You feel a little warm. Are you sick?"

Star scoffed "What?! No! I have never been sick my whole life! It was just a little warm last night, that's all!"

Eclipsa was not completely convinced "Well, alright. Just take care of yourself today." Star gave Eclipsa a quick hug before heading off to the Diaz household.

OXOXOXOX

"Birthday hugs!"

The second Star burst through the front door, she leaped right onto Marco and glomped him into a big hug. The force of it knocked Marco and herself to the ground "Thanks Star." He choked out.

Hearing the snap of a camera, they say Mrs. Diaz taking a photo of them "Mom! I told you before, stop taking pictures of us without permission!" Marco cried out "Oh I just can't help it. You two are so cute!" she apologized.

Getting off the ground, Marco readjusted the purple party hat on top of his head "So, Tom says you planned something fun today?" he looked in Star's direction. Upon seeing empty air beside him, he looked down to see Star still on the floor "Star? Are you ok?!" he knelt down and helped her up "I'm fine, I just like the feeling on the cold hard ground." She brushed it off as a joke "Wait, Tom didn't tell you anything did he?!" she worried that the demon spilled all the surprises she had in store.

"Just that I should wear this party hat for when I get excited? I have no idea why though?" Marco pointed to the hat on top of his head. Star shrugged as well "Must be an internet meme Janna showed him or something. Speaking of showing you something, there's someone else here to see you!" Star bounced back over to the front door.

Following Star, Marco came outside and was face to face with an old friend "Nachos!?" he pulled on his hoodie strings in joy before running up to give the Dragoncycle a hug "How are you here?! I thought you were back in the Neverzone?!"

"Last week, a flock of Dragoncycles came through and I saw Nachos in the middle of them." Star told him "I was going to tell you right away, but then I realized this would be the perfect present for you!" Nachos nodded in confirmation. When Star described how reuniting with her would be the best gift, Nachos agreed to stay hidden until today.

Chucking his pointy hat to the floor, Marco hopped on Nachos' back and gave her some much needed petting behind her ear "I missed you so much girl! I just hope mom and dad are cool with keeping a Dragoncycle at the house."

Approaching the two of them, Star also gave Nachos some scratched under her chin "Well this little Dragoncycle is going to be helping us on your birthday adventure today." Nachos' purred at Star's touch.

Marco grinned and held his hand out for Star "Come on, let's get this adventure started!"

Star grabbed his hand as he lifted her behind him; Star wrapped her arms tightly against his chest as Nachos' began to take flight. Star had flown before, but never on a Dragoncycle. Nachos took off into the sky in a matter of seconds; Star could feel her heart racing with excitement. The teens let out shouts of glee as Nachos sent them through loop de loops, spins and turns high in the sky. From this height, the two could see the whole city; Star glanced down happily as she remembered this kind of view from when she was in her Butterfly form "Y'know, I never realized until now how much I missed flying." Marco could feel the underlining longing in her words.

Just as he was about to comment back, he felt her arms start to loosen around him "Star?" Marco looked back to see her holding her head with one of her hands "Star, what's wrong?" he asked worried. Star slowly shook her head "I'm fine! Just a little dizzy from being so high up." She tried to convince herself the altitude was the cause of her headache.

Clinging back to her boyfriend's torso, Star pointed Nachos to the first stop on Marco's adventure. Nachos slowed as she approached a regular neighborhood, instead of landing she remained hovering a few feet off the ground. Taking in his surroundings, Marco began to recognize the area "Hey, isn't this where…" his voice trailed off once his eyes landed on a certain someone close by.

"Jeremy Birnbaum?! Star, why are we here?" Marco questioned.

"He hasn't seen you since you left for Mewni right? I just thought you'd wanna go over and let him know about all the cool stuff you've done." Star batted her eyelashes innocently. Catching what she meant, Marco's mouth formed into a smug grin "Oh, Jeremy!" he called out.

The young boy stopped in his tracks and turned to face Marco with his usual annoying attitude "Well, well, well if it isn't Marco-" the words died in his throat once he got a look at Nachos "-….Diaz?"

"Hey Jeremy, I haven't seen you in over a year. What have you been up to?" Marco tried to sound casual.

Regaining his composure, Jeremy cleared his throat "Oh the usual, being rich, won all the karate tournaments I competed in, being the best." He bragged.

Star and Nachos rolled their eyes, Marco however just looked at Jeremy in boredom "Oh, is that all?" Marco not being bothered by Jeremy bothered Jeremy "What about you Marco Diaz? You left town for like a year, did you flunk out of school and hide in the woods in shame?" he taunted.

"Nope, I took an exam so I am finished with High School. But I moved to another dimension for a bit and helped save a kingdom on a regular basis. I was the leader of my own squad to take down a crazed half monster with soul sucking powers; I rode my Dragoncycle here across the dimensions as I traversed multiple daredevil jumps and the like. I learned how to sword fight and spent some years in the Neverzone where I had an adult form that was rugged and ripped. I was knighted by Queen Eclipsa and took part in stopping an army of superpowered knights from causing genocide. Before magic got destroyed I got to use it and make some spells, I even used it to save my beautiful girlfriend Star here from being trapped in another dimension with a unicorn." The entire time he spoke, Marco shined with confidence.

Seeing the shocked look on Jeremy's face was incredibly satisfying for Marco. The little boy was rendered completely speechless at Marco's accomplishments "But hey, you won some city wide tournaments. Good for you. Sounds just as exciting as the stuff I do now." Marco's voice oozed sarcasm. Star nudged him in the arm "We really should be heading out to take care of that rogue 5 headed dragon now Sir Marco." Star added, making sure when she said Marco's name in her flirtiest voice.

Revving up, Nachos flapped her wings and took off into the sky once again. Leaving Jeremy standing dumbfounded in the street.

Out of earshot, the two teens burst out laughing "Oh man! His face when he realized I was your girlfriend was pure gold!" Star laughed "And that last bit you made up about having to go fight a 5 headed dragon really sold the whole thing!" Marco laughed as well.

"Oh, I didn't make that up. That's what we're doing next!"

"Ha ha…wait what?"

OXOXOXOX

It had been ages since Star and Marco battled side by side. As much as the two enjoyed the peace, they still craved the heat of battle. A hydra much like the one from Marco's first visit to Mewni had escaped the confines of his cave and was terrorizing everyone in the area. The duo dismounted from Nachos and struck the beast with a double uppercut to one of the chins. Despite the danger, the two were having the time of their lives. Even without magic, Star was still an excellent fighter, so it was easy for Marco to notice she was lagging behind.

"On your left!" she heard Marco's voice call to her. Heading his warning, she ducked down and narrowly avoided one of the hydra mouths as it bite the air. Star regained her footing and kicked it right in the eye, the Hydra screeched in pain "Ha! I got it right in the eye!" she cheered.

Up above, Marco stood on top of another head and baited a third head into hitting the one he was standing on, launching off the head just in time. Landing next to Star, the two stood back to back "This has been fun, but I think it's time to wrap this up." Marco gave Star a knowing look. She nodded and the two ran in opposite directions.

Just like before, they got the hydra to tangle up its heads and suffocate itself. The sound it made when it hit the ground alerted the monsters and Mewmans it had been terrorizing that the threat was gone. The hydra was hauled off by some villagers to cook for dinner, as they trudged it away Marco approached Star "Why'd we have to end it so soon? I could have gone for another 10 minutes!" she asked "Star, that thing almost got you in its mouth like 5 times. You don't usually lag in a fight, what's going on?" he questioned.

"Marco, I am fine! Just got a little sweaty from the heat of that things firebreath." Star was trying more to convince herself of her words than she was trying to convince Marco. The increasing blurriness of her vision and throbbing headache would not keep her back from having fun with Marco.

Waiting until Marco went over to check on how Nachos was doing, Star patted herself on the face "Get a grip Star! You are not sick! You are perfectly healthy and there is nothing wrong!" she psyched herself up. Moving her attention to Marco and Nachos, she let out a deep sigh "I'm sure once we get through the rest of the birthday adventure, I'll be feeling better than ever!"

OXOXOXOX

Star was feeling worse than ever.

The pain in her head only intensified with every activity, every loud noise would make her head start ringing and any fast movements would leave her feeling dizzy. Star never knew until now it was possible to feel both hot and cold simultaneously. When she spoke it felt like her throat was made of sandpaper, no amount of water would dampen the soreness in her throat. What was worse of all was having to hide all of this from Marco. Keeping Marco from finding out was very difficult, he knew Star better than anyone so he could easily sense something was off about her. Star was able to wave off her headache as brain freeze from the Ice Cream sundae's they had for lunch. Everything else she got by with distracting him with another part of his adventure.

A long eight hours later and they were finally heading back to Marco's house where his party was awaiting him. As much as Star loved the feeling of riding on a Dragoncycle, she forced herself to close her eyes and focus on keeping her grip around Marco as they picked up speed.

"Uh Star, we're here."

Opening her eyes, Star could see Marco looking over her. Even she knew he was catching on to what was wrong with her. Carefully stepping off Nachos' back, Star went ahead of Marco and turned into his backyard. The area filled with lights and colorful decorations, the biggest and most obvious being a banner reading 'Happy 16th Birthday Marco!'

Other than his immediate family, the likes of Tom, Ferguson and Alfonso, Starfan13, Jackie and Chloe, and Sensei Brantley were casually chatting as they munched on burritos and kept Mariposa from trying to steal a chunk of the birthday cake. Noticing Star's presence, Tom shot up a small flame to signal that the birthday boy was coming. There wasn't really anywhere to hide other than under the tables, so everyone huddled into a corner as Marco came into view.

"Surprise!" Everyone called out. Ferguson and Starfan13 threw an entire bag of confetti into the air, littering the ground with colorful paper.

"A party for me!" Marco tried to sound surprised. Tom approached gave him a playful jab in the shoulder "You knew didn't you?" "Yeah, I could see the whole thing when we were flying in." Marco admitted.

Marco's friends and family surrounded him as his parents brought the cake forward "It is time to blow out the candles!" Mr. Diaz cheerfully sung. Knowing his dad was just being impatient for some cake, Marco chuckled as he silently made a wish. Blowing out the candles, Mrs. Diaz began to cut the cake and pass out slices.

Between forkfuls of cake, Marco was approached by Starfan13 "How was your adventure with Star? I was helping set up so I couldn't follow you guys like I usually do." She asked. Ignoring the creepy undertones of that last sentence, Marco swallowed his cake and answered "Oh man, it was a blast! We fought a hydra, sailed through the sky, Star punched a mime-Wait, where is Star?" Realization hit him as Marco realized Star had disappeared when everyone was greeting him.

Placing his slice of cake on the table, Marco went back around to where he last saw Star standing. He couldn't spot a single trace of her at the front of the house and was about to look elsewhere when he heard a faint cough coming from behind a bush "Star?"

Peering behind the bush, he caught sight of Star knelt over and stifling a cough by covering her mouth "Star!" Marco quickly joined her side. Star was unable to acknowledge his presence as she was too preoccupied with containing her coughs, keeping her face away from his so not only would he not be coughed on, but also not have to see her face like this. It took a moment for the coughing to subside, when it did Marco gently turned Star around to face him. Her features paled and her heart stickers had come loose from the sweat. Star was unable to meet his eyes as he realized that he was right about her condition today.

"…Mar…"her throat ached too much to keep talking. Star felt her head spin like she was being lifted off of the ground. When that feeling did not subside Star opened her eyes and found that she really was lifted off the ground, and in Marco's arms. Not having the strength to argue, Star let herself doze off for a while.

OXOXOXOX

"ngh…ugh, my head…"

Star felt her vision starting to focus as her eyes were flooded with light. Blinking the fog in her eyelids away, she started becoming more aware of her surroundings. Between the green walls and soft blankets, she figured she was in her bed at the Monster Temple "Wha…how long have I been out…?" Star quietly wondered to herself.

"About 15 minutes." Another voice spoke close beside her.

The pain began to fade and she could fully focus on the boy in the hoodie beside her bed "Marco? Why are you here?" she groggily asked as she tried to sit up. Holding her gently by the shoulders, Marco carefully placed her back down onto the pillow "You have a high fever Star, I couldn't leave you alone like this." His voice was gentle to her ears.

"No, it's your birthday Marco. You should be at your party!" Star began to fully regain her senses; as good as it felt to have him by her side she knew he had more important things to attend.

Holding her hand in his, Marco gently traced her knuckles with his thumb "Star, there is no way I could party when you're sick like this." There was a firm resolve in his eyes as he spoke to her. His free hand pushed her sweaty bangs off of her forehead and stayed there as he felt her temperature.

Star clenched her hand into her blanket, the guilt hurting more than the fever did "I'm sorry Marco…" he raised an eyebrow at her "Sorry? For what?" meeting his gaze, Star bit her lip and continued "This was supposed to be this big epic birthday adventure! But I ended up ruining it all with this stupid cold!"

"Hey." Marco took a seat on the bed next to her, his hand never leaving hers "This was the greatest birthday ever! You brought Nachos back to me, you took me on an amazing day, and now I'm ending the day with the most amazing girl I know. I don't care if it's at the biggest part in the world, or just sitting here playing a video game; life with you is always an adventure."

Star's cheeks turned red again, but before Marco could check her temperature, she stopped him with a smile to let him know the redness wasn't because she was sick but because she was happy "You're such a dork." Star fondly sighed.

"Well, do you think you can beat this dork at a couple of rounds of Super Macho Punchers?" Marco asked as he held up a copy of said game and a Tinnendo Swap console "Oh, you are going down Diaz!" Star's voice perked up at the challenge. Passing her a controller, the two sat back and enjoyed their game.

The next day Marco came down with a cold as well.


	11. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

**Hey readers, welcome back!**

**Did anyone else read Daron Nefcy's AMA on Reddit? It's funny because one of the things answered was a headcanon I will be using in a later chapter and I was completely right. It's nothing serious but it's a tiny detail that I was surprised to be right about.**

**Now to answer something from animegamefanatic: For this fanfic (and confirmed in the aforementioned AMA) only Earth and Mewni got merged in the cleave. As for Nachos, in this story Hekapoo brought Nachos out of the Neverzone and took her to Earth as a parting gift to Marco before she died. During the merge, other packs of dragoncycles from Mewni were brought to were Nachos was and she spent 3 and a half months roaming around with them before finding Star.**

* * *

'_Space Unicorn, Soaring through the stars~_'

The sound of his phone ringing woke Marco from his dreams. Still half-asleep, Marco reached his arm over the nightstand and blindly grabbed until he felt his phone in the palm of his hand. Before he could even say 'hello' to whoever was on the other end, Star's voice shouted through the phone loud enough to fully wake Marco up "MARCO! LOOK OUTSIDE!"

Marco rubbed his eyes as he sat upright "Star? Do you have any idea what time it i-"

"LOOK OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW MARCO!"

Placing the phone away from his ear before he went deaf, Marco mumbled under his breath "Please don't be another hamster séance." Luckily for him, when he looked out the window and did not see any of Janna's witchcraft. Instead, he was greeted with the sight of the entire neighborhood covered in a blanket of snow.

"Star! There's snow! Why is there snow?!" he panicked into the receiver. The line went silent "Star? Are you still there?"

The door to his room flew open with a kick of a boot, Star's boot to be precise "Marco! It's a snow day!" she cheered! Star was already dressed in winter wear, the same outfit from the time they saved Nachos in the Neverzone.

"Yeah, I can see. But WHY is there snow? It's too warm to snow in California!" Marco tried to make sense of how the laws of physics were failing.

"Oh Marco, you silly boy. We aren't in California anymore, this is Earthni! It snowed on Mewni this time of year, so now it snows on Earthni this time of year." Star reasoned. Her explanation made sense to Marco, not to mention he remembered the laws of physics blew up in a fiery rainbow the day he met Star.

As the shock subsided, Marco's panic turned to glee "It's snowing! Oh my god I've never had a real snow day!" Last year around Stump Day had been the first time Marco had seen real snow before. Back then the two of them only got to mess around in the snow for a short time with how busy they were. Now they could enjoy the snow to its fullest.

"Oh man, there's so much stuff I wanna do! I don't even know what to do first!" Marco spoke excitedly "How about you change out of your jam-jam's first?" Star quipped. Realizing that he was still in his pajamas, Marco's expression turned into adorkable awkwardness "Heh, right."

OXOXOXOX

Now in a winter coat and scarf, Marco ran with Star to his front door to greet the winter wonderland that awaited them. Within seconds of opening the door, Marco was nailed right in the face with a snowball "Agh, what the…Janna?!"

Standing next to a small pile of snowballs was Janna, leggings and a scarf added to her regular attire "What up Diaz." She casually tossed a snowball between her hands. Marco approached her as he wiped the snow off his face "Was it really necessary to hit me with a snow ball the moment I step out the door?" Janna laughed "Oh for sure! I've always wanted to do that! Fun fact that was actually the second biggest snow ball I made. I was gonna throw the first one at you, but I got your dad by accident." Janna pointed to Mr. Diaz over to the side, he was covered in snow with only his head sticking out "Hello Marco!" he cheerfully greeted, completely unbothered by his situation.

OXOXOXOX

The trio strolled down the street, taking their time to appreciate the beautiful white iciness, watching people stick their tongues to pole's was another was an added plus.

"I remember when I was like those people, the frozen desire to see if the myth that your tongue will get stuck is true." Star remembered fondly, Marco glanced at her unsurprised "And how long did you get stuck to one?" It took Star a moment to come up with an answer "I think about 4 hours. But don't worry Marco, I have learned my lesson. Now I know only a real idiot would ever try it."

"ELP! OMEONE ELP!"

Stuck to the pole only a few feet away from them, was Tom. The trio facepalmed in unison, each mortified at the demon's predicament.

"Yo, Tom! You have fire powers!" Janna reminded him.

Realization struck Tom; he avoided eye contact as he covered his tongue in fire and easily pulled away from the pole. With a blank expression on his face, he joined his friend's side "How did you forget you have fire powers?" Marco asked in disbelief "I panicked!" Tom defended himself. Star and Janna held back their snickering "How long were you stuck to that?" Star wondered "…I'm not gonna answer that." Tom's expression remained neutral.

OXOXOXOX

After a heated discussion, the group decided to follow Janna's lead and have a snowball fight. Each person hid behind their own walls of snow, some had snowballs ready in loads. Others were not doing as well.

"Come on, why won't you stay in a ball!" Marco desperately tried molding a lump of snow into a ball. Each attempt ended in utter failure.

Against all odds, Marco managed to make one decent snowball "Finally, now for the rest." He reached for another handful of snow. The sound of a trumpet interrupted him "Let the snowball massacre commence!" Star screamed.

Panicking, Marco quickly molded lumps of snow together as fast as he could. With one ball and a pile of snow, he poked his head over his snow wall to see how the battle was going. Instantly he was pelted by several snowballs from varying directions "Gah!" he ducked back down under the snow wall.

Grabbing the one actual snowball he made, he took a deep breath and readied himself "It's showtime."

Jumping up, he wasted no time in launching the snowball directly towards Janna. She smirked and countered it with a snowball of her own, crashing Marco's hard work into a pile of frozen water. Janna looked between the other two and gave them a nod, Star and Tom nodded back to her with knowing looks. All three of them bent down into their snow forts for a moment, leaving Marco standing there filled with dread.

The trio reemerged from their hiding and presented Marco with around 10 snowballs each. Marco's eyes widened as he realized their intention "Oh no."

Marco tried to dive back down to safety, but he was not fast enough to dodge the onslaught of snowballs from all directions. Everyone was relentless and every throw had perfect aim. By the time Tom threw the last snowball, Marco and his snow wall were buried underneath a mountain of snow. Marco tried to say something under the white blanket of frosty death, but whatever it was came out as nothing but muffled noises.

OXOXOXOX

"Tom, what the heck is that?"

"Come on Marco, don't you know a snowman when you see one?"

Whatever Tom had made was most definitely not a snowman. Instead of rolled balls of snow, its body was made of a pyramid of snow. The coals Tom found would not stay on so he shoved in some uneven rocks for the buttons, not a single one was round. When it came to the eyes he only had one rock left, so it ended up having a single square shaped eye left of the center. Tom had used his finger to try and make a smile, but it looked more sinister than he had hoped. He used sticks for arms, but to support the weight of the pyramid it ended up having 10 arms on one side and 7 on the other. The only thing done somewhat correctly was a carrot nose…that Tom had taken a few bites out of.

"So it doesn't look perfect! He's my snowman and I am proud of him!" Tom defended the monstrosity.

"Look out guys!"

Star's voice alerted the boys to the sled containing Star and Janna heading straight towards them. Marco and Tom stepped to the side just as the girls sled straight into Tom's snowman, utterly destroying it as they sled onward.

Tom gaped at where his beloved snowman once stood, now a pile of junk laid in its wake. Tom sank to his knees and held the rock that was once its eye "Goodbye Fridginator, you will be back."

"You named it Fridginator?" Marco wasn't sure what to make of any of this.

Star and Janna's sled continued to pick up speed as it sailed downhill. The sled was taking them down the same way Star went when she was stuck on the bike, luckily the roads were mostly closed so there was a great absence of cars in their way.

"Woohoo! We are flying right now!" Star cheered.

Janna joined Star in her joy until she caught sight of what was ahead of them "Hey Star, I think in a moment we really will be flying!" she tugged Star's sleeve to get her attention.

Taking notice of where they were speeding towards, Star saw a large ramp in the middle of the street that was right in the middle of where the sled was heading. The girls looked to one another calmly "Bail?" Star asked "Bail." Janna answered.

Both of them jumped off the side of the sled and rolled over into the snowy street. Picking their faces out of the snow, they watched the sled go flying high into the air, missing a nearby helicopter by a few feet.

"Why is there a ramp in the middle of the street anyway?" Janna wondered.

"I think it's there in case someone needs to escape from the city." Star stated.

"…What?"

OXOXOXOX

"You seriously don't know how to ice skate?" Marco asked surprised.

Janna shrugged "Never felt too comfortable walking on mini saws over frozen water." She sat back on a nearby log, hugging a bag of marshmallows into her side as she plopped one in her mouth "You kids have fun though."

Leaving Janna to her marshmallows, Star, Marco, and Tom all finished putting on skates and climbed onto the frozen lake. Neither of them was really any good, but they weren't falling at least. Star held her arms out, flailing slightly as she made more strides forward "I'm getting the hang of this!" now more confident, she glided out away from the boys and begun skating around in little circles.

The cold wind rushed through her hair as Star began to branch out to doing more than just circles on the ice. She happily spun in twirls and did tiny kicks in the air, feeling like the queen of the ice. The sound of someone's butt hitting the ice dragged her thoughts back to reality, glancing over to see Tom helping Marco off of the ice.

"This is harder than Star makes it look." Marco remarked as Tom pulled him up on his feet. He dusted the snow off his pants as Star skid to a stop in front of him "Here, hold my hand." She grabbed Marco's hand before he could respond, pulling him with her to the center of the ice.

Continuing her little ice skating show, Star led Marco along to her moves as they skated side by side. With Star's help, Marco was skating almost as well as she was within minutes. Even now when he was able to skate on his own, Marco kept a firm grasp on Star's hand. The two turning their moves into a dance between them on the ice, laughing and smiling as they spun each other around and tried out new tricks.

Off on the other side of the ice, Tom was skating back and forth until he was able to maintain a good speed and balance. Once he deemed his skills good enough, he turned back to his friends "Now it's Tom's time to shine!"

The couple skated to the side to give Tom some more room as he approached the center. Tom steadied his breath, letting the calm hold him before he started. He took a few steps backwards, and then launched himself into a fast blur of red as he went speeding across the ice.

As Tom raced around at high speed, he was unaware of the flames beginning to flicker under his feet. Star and Marco felt the ice begin to quiver and carefully made their way off the frozen lake "Hey Tom, you need to slow down!" Marco shouted.

Tom grinned cockily "No way Marco, I am totally going to one up you two!" he jumped into a firey twirl.

The demon's fire powers began to activate more and more as he accumulated speed. Luckily for him, those same powers were also letting him hover an ice above the melting ice. Tom launched into his grand finale with a series of backflips and high jumps. His final pirouette sending him into the air just as the ice turned into water below him. When it came to his landing, Tom believed he would touch down on solid ice. Reality hit Tom in the face as he was dunked into the now boiling water, the force of the impact creating a wave that washed the boy up to the edge of the lake.

"What!? Water!? No no no, my big finish!" Tom finally realized what he had done. In a burst of frustration his whole body was set aflame.

Seeing an opportunity, Janna went over to the burning demon and held out a marshmallow on a stick over his head "Janna? What-"Tom was unable to finish his sentence as Star and Marco had done the same and were roasting marshmallows over Tom as well. Resigning to his fate, he put his own marshmallow on a stick over his head.

OXOXOXOX

The quartet spread out in front of the Diaz home, all lying in the snow making snow angels. Well almost all…

"Oh come on! Why does this keep happening?"

Tom looked down in annoyance that once again his snow angel has ended up being shaped like a snow devil instead. It even had devil wings and a pitchfork somehow.

"Well its official. I hate the snow." Tom decided.

The front door opened as Mrs. Diaz and Mariposa (with only her face visible within all the snow clothes she was wearing) walked out to check on the teens "Aw, such cute little snow angel's…and snow devil." She cooed.

Marco pushed himself out of the snow and approached his mom and sister "Mom, are you sure that's enough for Mariposa? What if her nose freezes and she gets sick and-" "Marco. She has on eleven layers. She is fine." Mrs. Diaz firmly reminded her son "Now I'm taking Mariposa to the park to play with Meteora. There's hot cocoa and some blankets inside for when you kids get cold."

Marco said goodbye as she and Mariposa drove off, by now his friends had all gotten up and stood beside him "Hot chocolate does sound pretty good." Star mentioned "Eh, we've done almost everything we can out here." Janna sighed "Unless someone is willing to change their mind about snow roulette?" she looked to Marco who only glared in response.

Once inside, everyone ran into the kitchen to find four cups of hot chocolate, one of which was covered with whip cream and rainbow sprinkles for Star "Aw, she remembered just how I like mine." Star took a sip of her drink "Four bags of sugar."

The group brought their hot cocoa with them as they each grabbed a blanket by the fireplace "Wait, why don't I have a blanket?" Marco noticed that there were only 3 blankets for the 4 of them, each one already taken.

"Come sit next to me Marco, my blanket's big enough to fit two people." Star patted the space beside her. The reason for a lack of blankets now was obvious to Marco.

Marco sat next to Star as she wrapped the blanket around the two of them with one hand, and continued sipping her hot chocolate with the other. The two shifted around until Marco's head was leaning on top of Star's and their sides pressed firmly against each other. For a moment all was peaceful…

…until Janna decided to interrupt "Get an igloo you two."


	12. All I Want for Christmas Is You

**Next chapter is here! The next chapter may not come out till near the end of the month, going on vacation without my laptop.**

**To answer a question from Majinbuu7985: Yes it was a shout out to Sonic Adventure 2, when I was writing I just kept picturing the road looking like City Escape so I added a reference.**

* * *

"Star, are you sure this will be alright?"

"Trust me mom, when have I ever been wrong?"

"Hundreds of times."

Star and her mother were inside the foyer of the Monster Temple, not only the room, but the whole temple covered with ornaments and wreaths. Moon currently was holding a ladder still while Star was reaching over the top of a tree to place her namesake on the tip. She stuck out her tongue as she carefully placed the golden star at the top "And Star has put up the star!" she cheered.

Jumping down the ladder, Star narrowly avoided landing on her mother "Now this looks like Christmas!" Star admired their hard work.

"Yes dear it looks lovely…but…" Moon hesitated to join in the celebration.

"Mom, the stump was magic. Magic is gone. The stump is gone. No more Stump Day!" Star reassured her mother. What was once her favorite holiday had become bittersweet since she was attacked by the Stump. After she and Marco realized that the stump was magic, it had to be gone too! Because of the date, Star and Marco decided to introduce Christmas to Mewmans and Monsters in its place. No stump also meant Star could finally celebrate her birthday on her actual birthday for the rest of her life.

It was a big cultural change for the former inhabitants of Mewni to say the least, so to spread Christmas around they were hosting a Christmas party at the temple. Moon let out a sigh, forcing a smile to her lips "Yes, I guess you're right. No more Stump Day…"

"Ah, that's the Christmas spirit mom! Now we gotta decorate this tree." Star focused on the naked tree before her. Looking into a box nearby, Star sorted through tinsel and ornaments "Wait, where's all the candy canes?"

The crunching sound alerted the two to someone behind a pillar, Moon went over and found Eclipsa crouched down and munching on some candy canes. It took a moment before Eclipsa realized she had been caught, slowly turning to Moon as she hid the candy canes under her hat "Oh, hello Moon. Happy holidays." she tried to play innocent. Moon was not fooled "How many have you eaten?" Eclipsa thought to herself before answering "How much would you believe without it sounding bad?"

OXOXOXOX

Marco hummed to himself as he walked down the street, the Christmas air getting him in a good mood as he strolled past all the stores selling holiday stuff.

A small green figure caught his eye as a door opened at the shop beside him "Happy holidays! Oh hey Marco!" the young frog greeted him.

"Hey Katrina, wow you've gotten so big since I last saw you." It has strange to think the little tadpole he babysat around 2 years ago had already become a frog the size of a fourth grader. She ended up being the pseudo leader of the Buff kids despite being the youngest.

"So what are you doing out here Marco?" she asked.

"I'm getting Star a birthday present." He told her.

"Don't you mean a Christmas present?"

"Well yes and no. Star was born on Stump Day so she was never allowed to celebrate her real birthday. We tried last year but we sort of almost died. The day after Christmas is her birthday so we're holding a joint Christmas and birthday party for her." He explained.

"Cool! Hey can I come with you? I've got presents for all my siblings but I need to get something for my dad too!" Katrina smiled.

"Sure, I'm heading to the mall right now. So it should be easy to find something for the both of them."

OXOXOXOX

"River! Get that out of your mouth, it's on fire for goodness sake!"

At his wife's concern, River slowly removed the flaming chestnut from his mouth "Well that song on the radio mentioned chestnuts on fire, so I had to see what was so amazing that they would write a song about it!"

Rubbing her temples, Moon sighed at her husband's antics "Why is everyone trying to eat the decorations?" she muttered to herself. She bent down into the box of ornaments that Star had brought for the tree; picking up a corn shaped ornament and started searching for a branch to put it on. River joined his wife and marveled at the large tree "It looks much more impressive to have a whole tree full of knick knacks instead of a scrawny stump with letters on it, don't you think so Moonpie?"

"Yes, it certainly looks...different." Moon was unenthusiastic as she went to grab another ornament. River was unaware of the melancholy tone in Moon's words, instead looking into an ornament to see his reflection. His attention shifted to the smell of gingerbread cookies coming from the kitchen "Don't even think about it River. You are not to eat a single whole cookie." His idea was shot down before it was even made.

Off to the side, Star and Eclipsa were speaking with a group of Mewmans. Many Mewmans were still trying to wrap their head around the idea of Christmas; all of them spoke at once and asked many questions that left Star questioning everyone's sanity "Ok settle down people! To answer your questions, yes you get presents under the tree, the stump is gone so you don't have to worry about offending it, do not try and capture Santa or else you get no presents, no there are no blood sacrifices in this holiday, and lastly this holiday is not about you Chris!" Star addressed the crowd.

The crowd calmed down and went silent for a moment; one guy in the back raising his hand "And no you cannot stab the carolers." the hand went down.

Eclipsa could see that Star was getting agitated by all of this and stepped forward to continue in her place "Look, this holiday is not that different from Stump Day. Its only one day earlier, and you all get presents instead of having to give a sacrifice for your own safety." She pointed out.

Everyone seemed to agree with that last sentence "If you have any more questions, we have prepared pamphlets over at the entrance next to the pretzel cart." Eclipsa showed everyone the way, leaving Star to just sit back and take a breather "Finally! Why is it so hard for Mewmans to understand to new things!? The monsters welcomed Christmas right off the bat, then again monsters never celebrated Stump Day."

Star took solace at the thought that Christmas was only the day after tomorrow. The party was being held on Christmas night, so at midnight it will turn into her birthday. She couldn't wait until she could finally have a birthday all to herself without fear of the stump.

OXOXOXOX

"Why is it so hard to find something for the both of them?"

Marco and Katrina sat down at the food court for a break, after over an hour they still had not found anything to get for their girlfriend and dad respectively. The two of them had already been in over half of the stores already, they found a few things that would be ok, but nothing that was excellent.

"What about that cotton candy machine? That sounds like something Star would love." Katrina helpfully reminded him.

"Trust me; no good can come from giving Star unlimited access to sugar." Marco shuddered.

"Yeah, my brother Dimitri has a problem with sugar too." Katrina empathized with Marco.

Marco gripped his hair in frustration "What kind of boyfriend am I if I can't even think of a great birthday Christmas present?!"

Katrina watched Marco with unblinking eyes "I don't know? What kind?"

Marco sighed as he lifted himself from his slouching position "Well, how about we focus on getting something for Buff Frog first? Did you see anything at all that he would have liked?"

"Oh yeah, tons." Katrina answered simply.

"What!? Then why don't we go and buy one?" Marco wondered.

"Well I saw a bunch of stuff he would like, but nothing that he needed." Katrina clarified "Dad says that it's more important to have what you need instead of what you like."

It didn't surprise Marco that Buff Frog would teach his kids lessons like that, he was always more insightful than most people made him out to be. Thinking about it, Katrina was right, but for the life of him he couldn't think of anything Star needed at the moment "That's a good lesson Katrina. Your dad taught you well."

Katrina proudly giggled to herself "Yeah, but I'm still the one who has to proof read his papers for work." After the words left her mouth, Katrina started thinking to herself "Wait a second…that's it! I know what my dad needs!" the little frog girl stood up and ran off, leaving Marco scrambling behind to catch up "Katrina, wait-where are we going?"

OXOXOXOX

The decorations were finally finished inside the monster temple, the three Butterfly women sat by the fire place, Star and Eclipsa chatted together while Moon sipped her tea from a chair closeby "So after reading the pamphlets, the Mewmans started to get onboard with Christmas. All they had to do was put fake green tops on their stump decorations and presto, it's a Christmas tree!" Eclipsa relayed to Star. Moon rolled her eyes "It's good to see them embracing tradition." She sarcastically muttered under her breath.

"Hello girls." Globgor poked his head into the room "Sweetie? I thought you were playing with Meteora in her room?" Eclipsa wondered. The size shifter turned his eyes away from his wife "Well about that…we decided to play hide and seek…"

Eclipsa jumped up "Hide and seek! Globgor you know she isn't allowed to play that anymore!"

"What's so bad about hide and seek?" Star wondered.

"The last time Meteora played hide and seek, it took hours to track her down." Eclipsa told Star and reminded Globgor. She paced around to try and think of where she would go.

"Well, where did you guys find her last time?" Star walked over to the couple.

Eclipsa searched her memory, thinking back to what happened before "Well…I believe she hid herself under that wolf rug in the study, but we got rid of that after River spilled ostrich blood all over…" Eclipsa stopped in mid-sentence "Where's River?"

Star and her mom finally noticed that the former king was absent from the room. The three ladies locked eyes and all came to the same conclusion "The kitchen!"

Everyone hurried over to the kitchen, finding a note of the door alerting them that the kitchen staff was on break. Moon opened the door and was not at all surprised to see River and Meteora hunched over a tray of gingerbread cookies.

Realizing they were caught, Meteora pushed the cookie she was eating into River's hand and pointed to him accusingly "What?! You are not pinning this solely on me!" River tossed the half eaten evidence away.

"Care to explain?" Moon stared unamused.

"Well, the cookies smelt so good, I just had to grab a few. But then it turned out that little Meteora was hiding inside my beard! She swooped in and started eating all the cookies! So when I tried to grab one she hissed at me and we got in a bit of a tussle! It took a while but after 15 minutes of an intense fight scene we decided to work together to eat the cookies!" River told his story. Meteora nodded along as she confirmed his tale.

Star facepalmed "Dad! How many did you two eat?"

"Technically not a single whole cookie." River sounded proud of himself.

Star and Moon finally took a glance at the cookies and found that while every gingerbread man was where it should be, all of them were lacking a head "You just ate the heads?" Star asked in confusion.

"Yep! Meteora started biting the heads off, so I figured I should too!" River reasoned.

Moon approached her husband, kneeling down to his eye level. Star and Eclipsa stood back as they feared she would explode on him. Instead of yelling at him however, Moon caught everyone off guard by laughing. Star, Eclipsa and Globgor shared a look of concern "Uh mom, are you feeling ok?" Star asked cautiously.

Moon's laughter subsided and she smiled at her daughter "I am now sweetie." She stood next to her daughter, the others backed away to give them space "Truthfully, I have been on edge lately."

"Are you worried about the stump?" Star wondered.

"No, the stump is dead…I hope." Moon whispered the last part "It's actually more about myself." She admitted. Star motioned for her mom to continue "This whole Christmas thing has been reminding me of how quickly times are changing. Traditions I have known my whole life have turned into something that I don't quite recognize. So much has changed for me this last year, no more magic, Mewni merging with Earth, my status as Queen, my whole life is completely different than it was a year ago."

Star was at a loss for words "Mom…change doesn't have to be bad…"

"I know, Star, let me finish." Moon placed her hand on her daughters shoulder "I still can't quite grasp this whole Christmas concept, but seeing your father goof off and eat all the snacks, it's the same thing he did every Stump Day. Such a simple thing like that reminded me that the most important things in my life haven't changed."

Star pulled her mom into a hug "Aw mom. Looks like you've learned a traditional Christmas lesson." Moon was perplexed "A Christmas lesson?" Star nodded "Yeah, there's this cliché that people on Christmas learn that family matters the most and all that junk."

"That sounds much more pleasant than being attacked by a dead tree." Moon admitted.

A loud crunch ruined the moment, Moon and Star finally noticed that not only did River and Meteora continue eating the Gingerbread cookies, but Eclipsa and Globgor had started eating them as well "Really?" Moon shook her head in disbelief. Star slowly crept over and nabbed a few of her own while her mom wasn't looking.

OXOXOXOX

Marco finally managed to catch up to Katrina as she neared her target, the bookstore. Following her inside, she led the two of them through the store as her eyes scanned the shelfs "Nope, nuh uh, zip, nothing." Katrina pointed to each section she walked past.

A display tower of books caught her line of sight, a single yellow and black book stood out like it had an angelic ray of light over it, in reality the other lightbulbs on around the display had burned out except the one above it "Perfect!" Katrina ran over and grabbed the book. Hearing Marco step behind her, she turned around and held out the cover to him "How to write good and do other stuffs good?" Marco read the title aloud.

"Yeah! If there's one thing my dad needs, its good penmanship!" Katrina took the book to the check out. She happily paid for the book and the two left the store "Well, I'm glad you found something for your dad. I still have no clue what to buy for Star." Marco sighed.

Katrina thought for a moment "Does it have to be bought? What if you made her something?"

Marco paused, racking his brain for anything he could possibly make her "I mean I could, but I don't think I'll be able to top that cape I made for her."

Katrina's eyes sparkled "A cape! Like a superhero cape?"

Marco chuckled "Actually it's a knight cape, it's covered in pictures of some of our best moments together…well excluding all the best moments we've had after becoming a couple." Memories flowed through his mind of the tender moments and sweet kisses the two had shared since their worlds became one. Every time they saw each other, he felt himself fall even more in love with her than he already was. Just the thought that such an amazing and vibrant girl was his girlfriend made his heart flutter; she always made him feel like the happiest boyfriend in the world.

"Wait…boyfriend…" Marco stopped as he pondered over an idea "I think I got it! I know what to give Star for her birthday/Christmas!"

OXOXOXOX

On the night of December 25th, the Christmas party at the monster temple was in full swing.

Monsters and Mewman's alike mingled together and had a good time, even the more cautious Mewman's began to loosen up around the monsters they were weary of. River was dressed as Santa Claus, surrounded by kids thanking him for their presents they received that morning. Meteora crawled into the sack he was holding in search of more presents, only to find the remaining decapitated gingerbread men instead. Eclipsa and Moon sat down and talked to each other, the first time in months they had spoken with each other like friends instead of Queen and former Queen. Buff Frog was reading through the book Katrina had gotten him, eager to learn how to write good more. Pony Head was showing off her new bedazzled laptop to Tom and Janna, both of whom were slowly backing away as Pony was distracted by herself.

Away from the main party, Star stood looking over a balcony on the side of the temple. She tugged her red and white fluffy coat closer as a cold wind blew by.

"Thought I'd find you out here."

Star's face lit up in a smile as she heard her boyfriend approach, the new silver and red sword she had given him as a present hung in its sheath on his back. Marco had surprisingly not worn his usual hoodie to the party; instead a green sweater with reindeer patterns took its place.

"It was getting a little too crowded in there for me." Star replied, retreating from the edge of the balcony to the nearby marble bench where the two of them sat side by side.

"So…it's only a few minutes until midnight." Marco reminded her.

"Yep, I'm gonna be 16 in 10 minutes." Star responded, kicking her feet as they dangled off the seat "Soooo, what are you hiding behind your back?"

Marco jumped "What! Nothing! I-it's the sword you got me!" he pulled the sword out from behind his back, unintentionally causing a wrapped gift to fall out from its hiding spot under the sheath. Seeing his gift out in the open, he froze and sweated nervously. Star simply raised an eyebrow at him, and he felt compelled to spill the beans "Well, this is your birthday/Christmas present." He picked up the package, it was a rectangular box covered in white stars on green wrapping paper, and a cute red bow tied it all together.

"Aww~" Star's eyes sparkled "Gimme gimme." She motioned for him to hand the gift over.

Catching a look of uncertainty in his eyes, Star realized something was amiss "Marco?" the boy placed his sword in front of him "Look, I have a present for you, but I don't think its good enough." He stared at his reflection in the sword "It took me forever to think of a present for you, but after you gave me this awesome sword…I started thinking of how lame my gift is in comparison." He placed the sword away.

Without so much as a warning, Star swiped the box out from his lap "Marco, Marco, Marco." She chided "You could get me a can of whipped cream and it'd still be the best gift ever." Her words eased his concerns a little "Well, alright…"

Tearing off the ribbon and wrapping paper like a wolf tearing a person limb by limb, she unwrapped to the plain box underneath. Opening the lid, she was greeted by the sight of the red hoodie trademarked by her boyfriend "Your hoodie?" she asked.

Panic set back into Marco's heart "Y-yeah. It's the same one I wore when we became a couple and cleaved the worlds together. There's this thing when a boyfriend would give his jacket to his girlfriend so-"he cut himself off, noticing tears forming in Star's eyes "Shoot! I knew it was a stupid idea!" Marco slapped himself in the forehead "I am so sorry Star! I'll go find something better right-"

"I love it."

Marco was torn from his thoughts by her soft voice "W-wha-what?" he could swear he was hearing things.

The boy was nearly knocked out of his seat when Star flung her arms around him, her cheek smushed into his cheek "I love it Marco! It really is the best gift you could have ever gotten me!" she spoke sincerely.

Marco relaxed and wrapped his arm around Star, sighing in content that he had made the right choice. They stayed huddled together as the clock struck midnight, unsure if he should wish her a merry Christmas or a happy birthday, Marco ended up saying "Merpy Birthmas Star." She giggled at his blunder "Thank you Marco, thank you."

But even more than her thankfulness to her boyfriend, was how thankful Star was the following day when the Stump was nowhere to be seen.


	13. Dreaming Of You

**YES! I managed to write a whole chapter in just 2 days! It was either cram my writing or wait till I got back from my vacation!**

**Either way, enjoy the fluff!**

* * *

Darkness, all around there was nothing but darkness.

For a moment, Marco Diaz felt nothing around him. But just as quickly as it lasted, the darkness abruptly broke apart, sending him into somewhere he could not yet recognize.

Marco sat upright and shook his head, he groaned at the whiplash the darkness had come and gone with "Ugh, my head…where…" his eyes came into focus, and he began to feel something like water below him.

Lightning flashed across the stormy sky as the winds picked up and sent the liquid crashing against him. Marco began to recognize where this place was "…The magic realm…THE MAGIC REALM?" the shock woke his senses up, now he saw that he was in the middle of the magic realm, knee deep in the corrupted useless magic.

It was exactly how he had seen it last, dying and bleak. Standing up, Marco saw no trace of magic portals or any other living being "Star! Star, are you here!?" he called out. The roar of thunder was all that replied.

His heart began to pound; Marco took a few steps backwards until he felt something bump into him. Twisting around, Marco was face to face with the corrupted unicorn.

Any words he may have wanted to say died in his throat, as he felt his entire soul freeze in terror. Between the whipping waves, harsh winds and flashes of thunder and lightning, Marco could swear he heard a deep voice talking underneath the sounds of destruction. Whatever it was saying, it was lost on his ears, drowned out by all else.

The unicorn neighed and kicked its hooves in the air, Marco ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Nothing changed as he ran, the scenery remained the same and the unicorn was catching up to him. A rock pillar erupted in his path, stopping Marco in his tracks. He was helpless as he saw the unicorn close in on him and tear through his body with its dark horn.

Marco's screams were silenced as he felt himself fall into the dark waters, drowning him in darkness as the voice seemed to speak to him. He couldn't listen; he could only focus on the searing pain coursing through his body.

OXOXOXOX

Gasping for air, Marco shot up in his bed. His face was sweating and his heartbeat quickened. He rolled up his shirt to look for the stab wound, but found nothing where it should have been.

"Was…was that a dream?" he asked himself. Looking to where his clock should be, he found nothing beside his bed "Huh?" Marco cleared his eyes. He was in his room, except it was empty save for the mattress he slept on.

Memories came rushing back to him; he was in the copy of his room at the Monster Temple. It was New Years and after the countdown, Star had offered for him to sleep in his former room in the temple for the night.

Picking up his phone, he checked the clock to find that it was 2 in the morning. He resigned himself to falling back onto the mattress and trying to fall back to sleep.

15 minutes later and he still found himself staring at the ceiling, wide awake.

Something about that nightmare, it made his insides freeze in fear. He told himself that it was only his subconscious tapping into his memories, but the thought of going back to sleep was rejected.

Not really thinking, he got up from his bed, wearing his regular shirt, pants and socks, and made his way to the door connecting his and Star's rooms. Knowing she would be asleep right now, he hoped just seeing her would be enough to put his heart at ease.

Opening the door, he was not prepared to see Star standing right in front of him, wide awake and in her pajamas "Marco! You're awake?" Star whisper-shouted.

"Star? Why are you up?" Marco asked in the same hushed voice.

"I…had a bad dream. I thought just seeing you would make me feel better." Star admitted, grateful for the room being too dark to see her blushing face.

"That's…the same thing I was doing." Marco responded surprised.

Silence followed for a moment, neither sure what to say, Star made the first move "Do you wanna talk about it?" Marco nodded "Yeah."

The two sat on top of Star's bed, Star held a pillow in her lap as Marco began speaking "I had a dream where I was back in the Realm of Magic when it was collapsing. Only I was all alone, well not entirely, the corrupted unicorn was there. The unicorn chased me down and impaled me again, and I started sinking into the inert magic as I woke up."

"Woah, that's unsettling." Star placed her hand on his shoulder "I never saw you get stabbed when we were there, but it would probably become part of my nightmares if I did." After they had gotten settled during their first day on Earthni, Marco had told her about what happened. Even though she knew he was alright, it still alarmed her that he was hiding something like that as they held each other in the collapsing dimension.

Marco let out a sigh "I don't know why, but whenever I remember being stabbed by that thing, it makes me feel…I don't know, anxious or worried or something…"

He looked at his girlfriend "What was your nightmare about?" even in the dark of the night, he could still see when her eyes filled with pain. She took one hand off of her pillow and intertwined her fingers with Marco's "I also had a dream about that day. Only instead of being stabbed in the magic dimension, I dreamt the two of us hadn't been reunited…" her voice became heavy as she recalled her nightmare.

Marco gave her hand a squeeze, letting her know to continue "In my nightmare, I never reached that last portal in time. I spent my whole life miserable and alone, always trying to find a way back to Earth. The very thought of not having you in my life is unbearable…" Star's voice trailed off.

A single tear threatened to escape her eye, Marco took his other hand and gently wiped the tear from her face "I know, it terrifies me too." He spoke gently, his thumb tracing over her blank cheek.

Allowing themselves to be vulnerable with each other, the couple's voice's quietly cracked in unison "I can't lose you…" their somber faces turned to contentment, a weight lifted off of their hearts.

Marco gently pulled Star towards him, her face resting on his chest. The gentle beating of his heart never failed to calm her nerves. Nuzzling closer, Star lightly gripped the fabric of his shirt, to anyone else it would have stunk, but to Star it only added to the soothing sensation she felt in his arms.

"Marco, can we just stay like this for the night?" Star asked, unwilling to leave the safety of his embrace.

Truthfully, Marco had been wanting to ask her the same thing "Sure Star, sure."

Carefully, Marco lowered himself onto the mattress, holding Star's back to keep her against his chest as he did so. Pulling the blanket over them, Marco snuggled his cheek into the top of Star's head, her bubblegum shampoo tickling his nose. Between the warmth from Marco holding her close, the softness of the blanket, and the gentle rhythm of Marco's heartbeat, Star felt her eyelids becoming heavier and her body relaxing "Night Marco, I love you." She whispered as sleep overcame her.

"Night Star, I love you too." He hoped she could hear him in her dreams. Marco stayed awake for a few minutes longer, brushing his fingers through her hair as the princess drooled on his shirt. Looking at her endearingly, he brushed a soft kiss into her forehead as sleep began to take him as well.

The two held each other close throughout the night, nothing but sweet dreams and snuggles till they woke in the morning.


	14. Can I Have This Dance?

**Finally, I'm back! With classes starting back up I thought I was going to have less time to work on writing, but one of my classes ended up being completely cancelled so I have two extra free days to write each week!**

**Thank you all for liking and reviewing this story, I hope this chapter has enough fluff for you!**

* * *

Star honestly did not miss being royalty.

Being responsible for a whole kingdom and making important decisions for the sake of her people was never an ideal way to spend her life. After Eclipsa took the throne, Star thought she was done with any royal obligations. So Eclipsa requesting her to attend a royal ball once more had caught her off guard. Sure she was still living in the royal castle, but Star had hoped she'd be exempt from boring, fancy parties. When told that it would be the first royal ball to allow monsters, and that she could bring Marco, Star had agreed to come.

Star slipped her new ballgown over her head, looking herself over in the mirror. The bottom of the dress was round and poofy, reaching down to the floor with a fluffy white layer at the bottom. The top of the skirt was a pale blue part like the one on her old princess dress, but lacking the stringed hearts and lace at the bottom, instead three rows of ruffles went down the center of the skirt to the bottom of the dress with pink hearts lining the darker blue fabric that ended before the fluffy bottom layer. The top overall resembled a heart shape, a V shaped indigo waistline meeting the skirt and a matching indigo line above her chest with some white ruffles pocking out like her old dress had. Puffy light blue sleeves covered her shoulders and the look was put together by a black choker.

The only thing left was the tiara lying discarded on a pillow beside her.

"Star, have you seen my silver earrings?" Eclipsa opened the door, wearing the same outfit she wore during the knighting ceremony.

"Nope, but I think the painted bone ones would look better with that dress." Star pointed out.

"Hmm they would wouldn't they…" Eclipsa trailed off in thought. A glimmer of light caught her line of vision, now noticing the tiara sitting on its own. Star followed her eyes and frowned "I can't wear that Eclipsa. I appreciate you restoring my old crown, but that crown is for a princess." Star stepped away from the mirror to sit on her bed.

Eclipsa went over and gently held the tiara in her hands "Oh, but your dress won't look complete without it." She pouted "A lady should always accessorize."

Returning to Star's side, Eclipsa held the tiara in her lap as Star refused to acknowledge it "I get that I have to attend a ball being held in my own house, but I'm not on your council or a real member of the royal family. You should put that crown to someone that's actually meant to rule."

Biting her lip, Eclipsa hesitated, unable to find the right words to express her answer. She reached over and pulled a stray strand of hair and tucked in behind Star's ear "Star...I have seen a lot of princesses. Some are really spoiled and some are apathetic to their people, those girls will not end up being very good rulers. But if there is anyone that I think has earned the right to be a princess, even if only in name only-"she placed the tiara on top of Star's head "-it's you Star."

Star blushed "Aw, thanks Eclipsa." She gave the queen a quick hug "You're the best granny ever!" Eclipsa playfully scoffed "Well now you're just making me feel old." the two laughed.

OXOXOXOX

The ball was going on in full swing; the temple lacked a real ballroom so the room that Star hosted her Monster Bash was used instead. Amidst the Mewni nobles and well-dressed monsters, Marco stood by himself against a stone column.

He wore a modified version of his song day outfit, the cuffs altered from grey with buttons to a shorter plain gold. A red sash hung across his chest, matching the formal red cape flowing to his knees and wrapped around his neck. The bottom on the shirt was cut below the belt into an upside-down V shape in the middle. The black boots were swapped for a near identical pair that was more pointed at the top.

Not really recognizing anyone he knew, Marco stood by and slowly sipped some hot pink punch. The royal trumpets sounded as Eclipsa and Star made their way into the room "Presenting Queen Eclipsa Butterfly, and Star Butterfly." The short flying monster known as Archibald announced.

Marco only caught a glimpse of Star before a horde of people crowded around the Butterfly's, all eager to speak with the Queen. Marco stood up as high as he could, trying to find Star within the sea of people. His efforts were in vain, a solid wall of Mewman and Monsters blocked his way "Great, just great."

Trying a different approach, Marco hung back and waited next to the chocolate fountain, knowing full well this would be where Star would go first.

Paying more attention to adjusting his cape than on the people around him, Marco didn't notice a group of giddy girls headed right towards him. The sound of giggling caught his attention as he looked up to see three Mewman girls checking him out "Uh, sorry, am I in the way of the chocolate fountain?"

The girls continued giggling to each other, the one in the middle spoke up "So me and my friends were wondering…" the girl on the left butted in front of her friend "Are you like, a prince from Earth or something?"

"What, no I'm not a prince or anything fancy like that, well actually I was a knight for a while so-"he was cut off by the girl's squeeing "Ooh, a knight! Like the ones in shining armor on a white horse?" "You must be so heroic!" "Like a Prince Charming." They all spoke at the same time, Marco shifting uncomfortably away from them "Yeah, not like that. I-"

The girls moved in closer "Can I be your princess?" "We should dance together!" "Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?" Marco sweated nervously at the sudden attention.

It took a while, but Star managed to push her way through the crowd that surrounded her and Eclipsa. Star adjusted the tiara on her head that was knocked out of place "Alright, I'm out! Now I just gotta fuel up on chocolate fountain goodness before I find-" in addition to finding the food table, Star had also found Marco surrounded by a group of girls "Aw heck no."

As the girls continued to bombard Marco with questions and requests to dance, he could not find a moment to speak up between their ramblings. He continuously held his finger in the air to signal that he wanted to speak, but the talking never ceased. Between their overlapping sentences, he was able to catch one of them saying "I want you to be my boyfriend." And that was what finally tore his patience

"Stop!" he held his hand out, effectively silencing the trio "I'm sorry girls, it's all very flattering but I already have a girlfriend." Their faces fell at the mention of a girlfriend "Are you sure you wouldn't like to dance with us?" one girl asked hopefully, the other two perked up "Yeah! She will never know!"

Marco shook his head "I can't, I've only got eyes for my Star…"

Unexpectedly, instead of being saddened, the girls started 'aww-ing' "That is so sweet!" "She's a lucky girl!" "I bet you two are really cute!"

"We are." A voice said behind Marco, turning around he saw Star right behind him, looking really touched "Star!" Marco stepped forward and placed a quick kiss on her cheek "I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to escape that wall of people." Star took his hands "Haven't you learned by now not to underestimate me?" the trio of girls now squealed at the couple before them, before catching another boy in their sights and running off to him.

Now that the two were by themselves again, they began to check out how the other looked "I can't blame those girls; you really do look handsome in a suit." Star complimented flirtatiously. For once Marco did not end up a blushing mess at her flirting, giving her a cute look right back "It's nice to hear that coming from the most beautiful person here." Star could barely contain the huge smile that spread onto her face "You are too sweet, but this chocolate fountain is pretty sweet too!" she pointed at the flowing dessert beside them.

Taking the hint, Marco grabbed a plate and some assorted dippable's like strawberries and marshmallows nearby "Well, if it's that sweet, then we should definitely start eating some." By the time he finished talking; Star already doused a huge pile of marshmallows in the stuff "Way ahead of you!"

OXOXOXOX

Once the two had their chocolatey fill (and Star almost contaminating the whole fountain by tricking to stick her tongue in it), Star and Marco sat at a table close to the dancefloor. The classical violin music that was playing was uninviting to them, opting to wait it out until something better hit their ears.

"Hey, Eclipsa's got moves!" Star pointed out the queen in the middle of the dancefloor. Eclipsa was currently dancing with one of her council members, none other than Buff Frog. Unseen to her guests, she had earbuds blasting rock music to her as she danced. The result was trying to waltz while headbanging and using air guitar. Buff Frog tried to keep up, when he couldn't he shot his fellow council members a look screaming 'help!'

"Poor Buff Frog." Marco shook his head in pity "Now that I think about it, where's Globgor? Shouldn't he be the one waltzing with Eclipsa?" Marco realized.

Star messed around with the straw in her fruit punch as she spoke "Globgor broke his leg yesterday." Marco was surprised by this "Really?! How?" "Eclipsa said he broke it from being super manly." Star answered, then proceeded to blow bubbles into her drink through the straw. Marco was still perplexed "How do you break your leg being manly?"

OXOXOXOX

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

Globgor and River are in the monster temple, jump roping.

"Look River, I can swing two at once!" Globgor showed off his mad jump roping skills. River pouted "Well I can do it while walking" he proceeded to demonstrate.

Not one to lose a challenge, Globgor also tried walking while jumping two ropes. He got a few feet before the ropes started to tangle, tying up his leg and sending his falling down a long flight of stairs.

As the size shifter's cries of pain filled the temple, River looked down the railing in thought "You know, I'm starting to think jump roping next to 6 flights of stairs was a bad idea."

OXOXOXOX

"Guess we'll never know." Star shrugged.

The sounds of violins ceased, the silence bringing everyone's attention to the queen (Who was just barely able to stop air guitaring when the music ceased). Archibald flew over and handed Eclipsa a microphone "Tha-" she tried to speak, but the mic's volume send a loud feedback through the room, everyone covering their ears.

A monster at the sound booth turned down the volume and gave a thumbs up for Eclipsa to continue "Sorry about that." She apologized "Thank you all for attending this ball, I know some of you are wondering why this is being held."

"I don't!" a voice in the crowd spoke up.

"Quiet you! Now I'm sure all of you have noticed the former Butterfly Castle is still in ruins across from this temple." Eclipsa motioned to Archibald holding a photo of the castle. The same voice from earlier spoke up again "I didn't notice! I'm blind!"

Ignoring the comment, Eclipsa continued "Well I have been speaking with a lot of people who believe that a crumbling castle is an eyesore to look at. And I agree, so the council and I have passed the motion to have the former Butterfly castle restored to its former glory." Archibald flipped the photo to show an older one depicting the castle from the time Moon was Queen.

The crowd murmured in varying sounds of approval or skepticism. Among them was Star, unsure of how to feel that her old home is being rebuilt. A bittersweet feeling grew in her chest, that castle was a reminder of her happy childhood, over the past year however; looking at it also became a reminder of the generations of bigotry and misuse of magic caused by both Butterfly lineages.

Back in front, Eclipsa got the people's attention back to herself "We have discussed it with people native to Earth, since we cannot rebuild it with magic, the castle must be fixed with the tools that humans use to build their buildings. I thought it wouldn't take long but apparently the castle has what some would call 'structural damage' and will take around five years to get 'up to code' as they say." Eclipsa used air quotes to emphasize the phrases the officials had used.

"What's it gonna be used for when it's done?!" the voice from before once again asked.

Eclipsa gave a coy smirk "Now that, will be a surprise." She winked "Now I hope you enjoy the rest of the ball, I will be discussing further matters at a later time." Eclipsa waved and retreated from public view.

As everyone went back to what they had been doing before the news, Star stood with Marco in the middle of the room. Knowing her for so long, Marco could tell when she was lost in thought "Star, what do you think about this?" he rubbed his elbow, unsure of where this could lead.

"I'm…not sure how to feel." Star admitted.

The music began to start back up, only now the sounds of a grand piano filled the ballroom, a real waltz had begun to play. Feeling that the time and song was right, Marco took Star by the hand "Star, may I have this dance?" his gentle eyes invited her to the dancefloor. Captivated by his gaze, Star smiled "You may."

Hand in hand, the two entered the middle of the dancefloor, Marco's free arm gently wrapped around Star's waist as her own free hand relaxed on his shoulder. Their feet started swaying to the music as the couple began their dance. Locking eyes, the two were near instantaneously swept into their own little world. They paid no mind to anything else but the music, and each other.

Gliding across the ballroom, the pair was in perfect sync with their dance. Holding his arm out, Marco sent Star into a twirl before spinning her back into his arms. The sensation sending butterflies through her stomache, Star felt like she was on cloud nine dancing with her boyfriend. He picked her up and briefly twirled her in the air before her shoes touched the ground and dipped her as she landed. The sensation gave them both a sense of Deja-vu.

"You know, dancing like this reminds me of a dream I had." Marco shyly looked away from her eyes "We were back at the Blood Moon Ball, but this time Tom didn't interrupt our dance. We kept going and talking and…we both said we liked it."

Star's eyes widened "Marco, in your dream, did I tell you that you had corn chip crumbs on your tie?" she asked suspiciously. Marco's eyes shot up and looked back into hers "Actually, yeah you did tell me that." He confirmed "You also told me right before I woke up-""What if it was never the blood moon…" Star finished for him "Marco, I had that same dream!"

Spinning around together, Star tightened her grip on Marco's hand; his thumb ran over her knuckle as he did the same "It wasn't a dream, was it?" Marco realized, Star nodded "I think it's what happened when we used the severing stone. It feels like a dream but, it happened in our memories." Star concluded. Removing her hand from his grasp, Star pulls it around his neck as their dance slows to a soft rhythm. Star rested her head on his chest and they swayed back and forth, feeling Marco's arms move up her back and pull her closer "I love this." Star whispers, then moves her head up to meet her lover's lovestruck face "I love YOU." Marco whispers back.

Leaning in, the two close the gap between them with a kiss. The feeling of their lips against the others was something neither of them would ever grow tired of. It was heavenly, it was warm, it was home. Ending the kiss, Star snuggled back into Marco's arms as he cradled her body against his own.

OXOXOXOX

Eclipsa sat behind the curtain, sipping out of a cup of pure chocolate from the fountain as she watched her adopted granddaughter and her boyfriend dance together, letting out an 'awe' as they kissed.

"Queen Eclipsa?"

The Queen turned to face one of her council, the waterfolk representative, A woman resembling the late Queen Crescenta's lover Emily, but with Aquamarine colored hair worn down in a long braid "Why did we only announce the castle project? What about the other announcement?" she wondered. Eclipsa patted the seat beside her, allowing the mermaid like woman to sit beside her.

"Look out there Hanon; Star is having such a lovely and carefree time. I want her to enjoy it as long as she can." She directed Hanon's attention to the couple.

Councilwoman Hanon sighed "Yes they are quite adorable. Hearing of what that young girl has accomplished, it is easy to understand why you have chosen her as your successor."

Eclipsa nodded "Yes, but for the time being, no one is to inform Star that she is a princess again." The Queen instructed "Once the castle is complete, in five years' time. Then I will let her know. Until then, let her be a teenager." Eclipsa smiled fondly, thinking of what the future will bring.


	15. Let's La Cooking Showtime

**New chapter time, but before that I want to answer some stuff from my reviews.**

**Some of you asked about why Eclipsa chose Star over her daughter Meteora. The story will eventually lead to Eclipsa's reasons for it, but not for a while. **

**I mapped out every chapter of the fic 2 days before I started it, so all events and what happens are already set in stone from chapter 1. However, originally the reveal of Star being Eclipsa's successor was going to be saved for much later in the story, with only Globgor briefly alluding to it. When I was writing the last chapter, I realized it would be better to reveal that plot to the readers first, WAY before I planned too.**

** I love to hear all of your feedback and answering your questions, but that plot point is still a long ways off so I can't give you guys any answers yet.**

** It's gonna be a long ride, so I hope you guys will stay and enjoy it as the story unfolds.**

* * *

All was quiet inside the Diaz household; all of its inhabitants were currently away, nothing but peace and quiet.

And then Star loudly kicked the door open.

"Hiiiyyaaa!" she shouted, the door nearly breaking off the wall from the force of her kick. Star looked proud of herself as she walked in holding a bag of groceries "You see Marco, my door kicking comes in handy when I got my hands full."

Behind her, Marco entered the doorway carrying a grocery bag of his own. He stopped to make sure there was no major damage done to his front door "I think you put a few cracks on the hinges this time."

Brushing off his concerns, Star went to the kitchen and began unloading the food they had bought "Alright, got all the little goodies here." She took out cheese and beans "I can't wait to learn how to make your Super Awesome Nachos!"

Unpacking his own groceries, Marco grinned at her enthusiasm. Truth be told, this was less about teaching her the recipe and more about making sure Star could cook without it turning into a disaster. Her homemade brownies were one thing, but pies with wrong ingredients and Meatloaf that was both burnt and raw was another. The final straw had been when she offered to make a salad for her mother, and it caught on fire. She was not near anything electrical, so no one could understand how it happened.

So that led to Star's first cooking lesson today. Marco surveyed all of their ingredients "Let's see, we got the chips, we got the pico de gallo, we got the avacado's, we got….Star? What is this?" he stopped at an unfamiliar containert, a pink ice cream tub with a cute mascot horse on the front. The writing on the bag appeared to be in Japanese.

"I have no idea what it is, but look at the little horse on it, he is just so cute!" he poked the picture of a horse. Taking out his phone, Marco looked up an online translator to translate it online "Star…this is ice cream." "Oh, good I love ice cream!" "HORSE MEAT flavored ice cream." The two froze in horror, shuddering as Star threw the tub away.

"Why does that even exist?" Star questioned the world she lived in. Marco heard Japan had some unusual food flavors, but the worst he had seen was Ludo eating chocolate-jalapeno chips. His concern for Star's eating habits intensified "This is why we make sure we know what we're buying before we buy it."

OXOXOXOX

A few minutes later and all the ingredients were delicately organized on the kitchen table. Marco had put on his favorite chef hat and apron, while Star put on a frillier apron belonging to her mother.

"I think that's everything. It's time to start!" Marco announced

"Aw yeah, time for chopping!" Star enthusiastically held up a large knife, unaware of what could go wrong with her holding a knife that large.

Marco's eyes flew open in panic, pushing the arm holding the knife downwards "Ok, we-we should probably go over some safety rules again!" he nervously grinned. Star pouted "Stupid safety."

ONE SAFETY SPEECH LATER

"Time to start for real now!" Star announced in determination "What's first?"

"Well first we need to open this can of beans." Marco held up a small can of pinto beans. Star held up her figure to speak, but Marco beat her to the punch "No, we do not use battle axes to open cans." She put her hand back down.

Marco showed her the can opener "So this part goes on top here and-"Marco twisted the can around, until the lid had popped off "-viola!" Star clapped at his demonstration "Wow that does look easier! And less messier!"

Bringing the can of beans to the stove, Marco set them in a pot with some olive oil "Now we let it boil." He increased the temperature. Star's eyes sparkled "And then?" "And then we let it simmer." "And then?" "And then we wait!" at the word 'wait', Star's eyes stopped looking at the pot in sparkling wonder and instead looked at it with annoyance "So do we add more stuff? Do we keep stirring?" surely there had to be more than just waiting.

"Nope, this pot is left alone for 10 minutes. Then it's done!" Marco explained.

Puffing up her sticker-clad cheeks like a little kid, Star complained "Aw but I wanted to do more! This is too slow and boring!"

Patting her on the back, Marco shot her a sympathetic look "It's just the first step Star. Cooking isn't about being exciting, it's about patience."

"Can we start the next part while we wait for this?" Star suggested.

Marco nodded "Yeah, let's make the guacamole!"

OXOXOXOX

Holding an avocado on the cutting board, Star held her knife over the green produce, sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth. Marco nearly bit his fingernails as he watched her with worry, he had already demonstrated how to cut one of the fruits, and he only hoped Star wouldn't accidentally cut herself. Carefully, Star raised the knife, and swung it down on the unsuspecting avocado. Marco shielded his eyes, unwilling to see the outcome "I did it!" hearing her voice, Marco lifted his hands from his eyes. Star looked over a perfectly cut avocado, with no damage to anything or anyone in the vicinity.

"You-you did it!" Marco cheered with her. Inspecting her work, he saw the seed in the center of the avocado had also been cut clean in half "Well I've never seen anyone cut straight through the pit." Marco remarked, removing the sliced seed.

As Marco finished with the avocado, Star glanced to the remaining vegetables needing to be chopped "I'm gonna start cutting the tomato." She told him. Marco nodded, not paying too much attention as he scooped out the avocados insides "Sure, that's a big-" he stopped as he realized what was about to happen "Wait be careful with the tomato!" his pleas were in vain, Star was already swinging her knife down full force on the tomato.

SPLAT

Star, Marco and the immediate area were now covered in the remains of exploded tomato. Star slowly turned to Marco, handing him the knife "I think you should be in charge of the chopping now."

OXOXOXOX

With the kitchen cleaned and the guacamole finished, the two started the cheese sauce. Star watched Marco whisk in the first two ingredients, butter and flour "I thought this was a cheese sauce, where's the cheese?" Star asked.

"Patience Star, the cheese comes last. We gotta let it bubble for a bit." Marco explained.

Watching the mixture boil and bubble, Star was tempted to pop one of the bubbles rising in the pot. She managed to restrain herself as Marco lowered the heat "That looks about right, Star do you want to whisk in the milk?"

"Sure...what's a whisk?" Star asked, never changing her chipper tone.

Marco handed her the whisk "So you use this to whip it an-""Oh, I get it!" Star eagerly started whipping the mixture, going way to fast as she mixed it with all her might.

"Stop." Marco placed his hand on hers "Your whipping it too roughly, plus you're not adding the milk." He held up the container. Star sheepishly shrugged "Oh…woops?"

Marco began to slowly add the milk with one hand, and using the other to help guide Star's whisk "See, you gotta whisk the milk in slowly. Make sure it properly melds with the other ingredients." Star's face beamed as the mixture and milk merged into one light sauce "Wow, you really know your way in the kitchen Marco." Star complimented, the two leaned back to let their creation bubble once more.

Marco blushed "Thanks, I've been doing this for a while, and I've made enough mistakes to figure out what works and what doesn't." he grabbed the shredded cheese from a nearby counter "You know, your whisking may be too rough for this, but I bet it'd be real useful making whipped cream."

The mention of sugar caused Star's eyes to light up "I love whip cream…oh we are so making that next!" the light in her eyes became a firey determination. Marco laughed "Sure, but first let's get the cheese in." he handed her part of the bowl of shredded cheese. Star winked "Whatever you say, chef!"

OXOXOXOX

After seasoning the chips, it was time to put it all together.

Star placed the chips into a platter as Marco came over with a ladleful of beans. He coated the surface of the chips with the beans and placed it in the oven. Setting a timer for ten minutes before he returned to Star's side.

Star tilted her head in confusion "Why is the cheese always getting left out?" she wondered.

"You know what they say, save the best for last." Marco joked.

"That's a dumb saying; the best stuff should go first." Star shared her opinion "Like dessert before dinner."

TEN MINUTES LATER

The two each wore some oven mitts as they carefully brought the tray out of the oven. They placed it on top of the stove next to the cheese sauce. Marco removed his mitts as he passed the ladle to Star "Would you do the honors?"

Star took the ladle and nodded "Gladly." She reached into the sauce, watching the gooey cheese drip from the ladle back into the pot, and began covering the baked chips in the stuff. Marco went and grabbed the guacamole, pico de gallo, and jalapeno's as Star spread the cheesy goodness. Once she was done, it was Marco's turn to add the cold ingredients to the dish.

And thus, the nachos were completed.

The two brought the tray over to the table, where their drinks were sitting, and set it between them. Each took a nacho and they clinked them together "Cheers!" they said, before taking a bite.

"It's amazing!" Star happily cheered "I finally helped cook something that's actually edible!"

Marco agreed "Yeah, you did great Star! I'm so proud of you!"

The two happily munched on the nachos, they got halfway through the plate before Star asked a question "So next week can we make dessert?" Marco smiled to her as he grabbed a chip "Of course, but no brownies."

When Marco went in to take a bite, Star yoinked it out of his hands, even saying "yoink" as she did so "That's what you get for dissing my brownies." Star playfully chided him. She went in to take a bite when she felt the chip ripped from her hand. The chip was back in Marco's possession "Yoink 2: Revenge of the yoink." He quipped.

Just as Marco was about to bite into the nacho, it was ripped away again not by Star, but by his dragoncycle "Nachos! What are you doing inside the house?!" Marco cried in alarm. Star just laughed "Nachos likes nachos."


	16. I Won't Say (I'm in Love)

**So between classes starting back up and a few of the next chapters being longer than usual, it may take longer for chapters to be released. I'm still aiming for at least one a week though.**

**To answer a review by animegamefanatic: Sorry, but I don't take requests. But in reply to your suggestions, River's eagles will show up in a chapter soon, Moon lost the election to be on the council but is still baking offscreen, and the plans for the castle will be brought up later on. This story is Star and Marco's story after the end, everyone else is living their adventures offscreen.**

**However even though I said this is Starco's story, there is still a trilogy of chapters dedicated solely to Jantom, this is part two of that saga.**

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A lazy Sunday, the perfect time to do nothing but goof off and have fun with friends. For Tom, it meant having a video game marathon with Marco.

The two sat on a couch in Tom's room, each clutching their game controllers for dear life as their eyes were glued to the screen. On the TV was their fighting game 'Hitting People', two polygon figures with Marco and Tom's faces pasted on were duking it out in an island arena.

Tom rapidly mashed the attack button as his avatar performed a combo, taking out half of Marco's avatar's HP "Yes! Victory is in my reach!" Tom gloated.

Marco shot back a devious grin "I wouldn't be so sure about that." He pressed a few buttons and his character suddenly had a laser arm. The sight sent Tom into panic "Oh crud, I forgot you still had that!" he frantically tried to deplete Marco's health before the laser could fire, but all that accomplished was getting him right in front of the laser arm for a direct hit. Tom's HP shot down all the way to zero "PLAYER TWO WINS!" the announcer announced.

Tom fell back into the cushion "Stupid laser arm! If I still had my chainsaw bullets then I could have jammed it!" he groaned. Marco patted him on the shoulder "Now you know to save your power ups instead of wasting them all on that giant baby."

Grabbing his controller, Tom sat up and looked at Marco "You up for round 2?"

"I'm already selecting the stage." Marco replied.

The boys sat in silence as the game loaded the next round, the announcer began the countdown "Three, Two, One-"

"Here's Janna!" the couch cushions below them erupted as Janna burst up from under. The shock sent both boys falling onto the floor and their controllers scattered on the ground "Janna?! What the heck?!" Marco cried out as he tried to catch his breath.

Tom looked at her in surprise "How did you get in my couch!? WHEN did you get in my couch!?"

The girl flipped out from the cushions and sat on one "Calm down Lucitor, I just got here. As for how…I have my ways."

Standing up, Marco put the game on pause "So what's the occasion for the couch entry?" he asked annoyed.

"Well I may have been messing with stuff I shouldn't have and now I need to figure out how to get organs back inside a guy without surgery." Janna answered.

Marco stood there blankly, not even a little surprised by the words coming from her mouth. Tom on the other hand, acted like it was a regular question anyone would ask "Sure, I got a way to fix that. Wanna help Marco?" he nudged his friend. Marco picked up his controller "I'm gonna go home and practice for a bit, call me when the Jannanigans are over." He walked over to a nearby hellevator, got in and was gone.

Now that it was just the two of them, Tom turned back to Janna "Ok, what's your real problem? I know full well you're capable of getting organs back inside a living body."

Janna chuckled "You know me well. I just needed something horrible enough for Marco to nope on out of here." She pulled out a notebook, a picture of Frankenstein's monster on the front "He's doesn't have a high enough clearance to know about Frankenstein yet."

Other people would think Janna was referring to the classic horror monster, Tom knew she was talking about her secret pet project. Frankenstein was a hodgepodge monster truck Janna was building, every piece from a completely different type of car. It was her baby.

"How's the progress?" Tom wondered, paying full attention as she flipped through her book until she reached a certain page. Janna stopped on a checklist, nearly everything already checked off "I'm almost done! I only need one more part before Frankenstein is complete!"

"Just one more piece?!" Tom was floored, when she had first let him in on the project she still had a whole page of stuff that was missing. The past few months he had been helping her track down some rare parts, but even then there was still a lot to find last time he helped "Wow, I can't believe it! This is awesome!"

"It gets better, I found the final part." She told him "That's why I need your help again; the little sucker is somewhere I can't get to on my own." Janna reached into her jacket and pulled out her phone "Ever heard of The Metal Garden?" she presented a photograph of a rusted metal sign, the words too faded to read.

Tom shook his head "No, can't say I've heard of it."

"It used to be this big mechanical showcase back in the 80's." Janna grinned; she flipped through her pictures that showed various metal contraptions, all rusty and degraded "People made these crazy art pieces out of metal and machinery, there were no rules; you could build whatever you wanted. But no rules meant no limits, some contraption went haywire there and ended up killing a bunch of people. The place was condemned, they tried to demolish it, but anyone who tried breaking the stuff ended up a lot bloodier than they came in. So the place was left to rust, decaying to the elements that ravage it."

"Alright, so the last part is in there?" Tom looked for confirmation. Janna nodded and brought up a new photo of an old truck "Yesterday I got a bird's eye view of the place with satellite images and I saw this car in the garden. Looked it up and it has the exact piece I'm looking for. Unfortunately…" She zoomed out of the picture as she continued, showing the thing smack dab in the center of the garden "It's right in the middle of the place, I've tried exploring that place before but the place actually is a deathtrap. I need help from someone with demonic powers to help me get to the car in one piece."

Tom thought it over for a moment "Hmm, an old place full of metal death traps that can kill us if we aren't careful…I'M TOTALLY IN!"

OXOXOXOX

The photo's Janna had of The Metal Garden did not do it enough justice. When she and Tom arrived, the entrance was covered in rust and overgrown plants, if one was quiet enough, the sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed from a distance.

"You really undersold on the creepy factor of this place." Tom noted, his hands inside his pockets as he kicked a vine laying by his foot.

"Yeah, it gets worse every time I come." Janna proceeded forward, squeezing herself through the rusted iron entrance. Tom followed her lead, almost making it through the opening unscathed, until his horn got caught between the rusty rods. The demon yanked on the bars, easily breaking them apart and reducing the parts to dust.

Rejoining his companion's side, Tom took in more of his surroundings. The rusted metal continued further in, but the overgrown vegetation began to cease, most remaining plants were shredded and dead. Janna grabbed her phone and pulled up her map "So we are right here, next to the grey-green rectangle." She pointed on her screen "We need to get to the dark grey circle thing in the middle." She slid her finger over to the circle as she spoke "The truck is inside the garage, between that and us is several works of art that can slice us into pieces and malfunctioning machinery that can crush us like bugs."

Tom scoffed "We don't have to bother with those, I can just fly us over." Flames shot from his boots as Tom ascended into the air, Janna watched with a concerned look "Ooh, this won't end well."

In the sky, Tom could see the whole area, including the garage "I found it! I can get there in maybe 30 seconds flat!" he called down below. Something started beeping close by, followed by a grinding noise that brought the boy's hands to his ears "Ugh, what is that sound?" a laser beam shot from a tower nearby, directly blasting Tom in the leg "What the-" several more lasers followed, sending the demon crashing down and into the cold, iron and dirt floor below.

Janna pulled up beside Tom and brought him up "Yeah, I made that mistake once. The weirdo's who built this place didn't wanna deal with birds hanging around and pooping on stuff. The security system shoots anything hovering over the place with a painful laser blast, one of the reasons this place couldn't get torn down is that no one can turn off the security." Tom coughed up a cloud of smoke "Thanks for warning me." His hoarse voice strained to relay his sarcasm.

OXOXOXOX

Five minutes in and all the pair could see around them was metal, old projects and uncompleted piece's lay abandoned on the ground. Many larger pieces had broken off from where they belonged and struck themselves in the ground, measuring up to the teens shoulders.

Approaching a large iron wall, Janna pulled her arm in front of Tom "This is where most people turn around; even I couldn't get much farther from here." She gestured to the crack in the wall. While the outside was a smooth shiny surface, the inside was filled with sharp edges and spikes poking from the ground.

"Why are there spikes on the floor?" Tom wondered. Janna shrugged back "Art is weird." She began entering the crack, narrowly avoiding the pointy stuff "This is where you come in Demon boy; you can melt the spikes and give us an easy in!"

Tom followed in after Janna, getting in front of her before he shot fire from his fists. The points seemed to be melting, but hot metal goop was now threatening to burn them from above "Ooh, didn't see that coming." Tom admitted, Janna gripped the back of his jacket "Shut up and fly!" she demanded urgently. Once he could feel her arms holding on tight, Tom flew as fast as he could through the melting crevice.

The duo managed to pull out seconds before being engulfed by hot metal, Tom skidded to a halt as they crashed into an old crate. Blinking in silence, Janna was the first to speak "We made it, cool." She nonchalantly got up and brushed herself off. Tom was staring wide eyed where they just came from "Remind me never to do that again."

Janna grabbed his arm and pulled them forward, the art pieces in this area looked far more twisted and deadly. Stopping at an half destroyed statue, the two tilted their heads "What is it?" Janna tried to piece together what it was. Tom dusted off the plaque next to it "The inevitability of life, what does that even mean?"

A creaking sound caught their attention, the two caught sight of a statue with a large piece hanging by a thin thread. The thing looked like a string of DNA with copper tree branches emerging from the top. One copper figure leaned over and swayed against the wind, threatening to topple down and crush them like bugs.

Tom and Janna slowly backed away from the dangling figure, careful not to disturb their surroundings. Taking another look around, the two noticed more decay on the tall statues. The things that once held it all in place had worn away to the elements, one wrong move and everything comes down.

Standing back to back, Tom and Janna carefully made their way towards the door on the other side. The crowded area was not easy to tip-toe through, Tom stubbing his toe on a discarded chunk of lead. He held in a shout of pain and wondered how these things had not already fallen before they arrived.

With only a few steps to go, Janna felt her foot sink into the ground. A loose floorboard sprang up from under her and propelled a piece of itself into the air. They both watched in dread as the flying hunk of wood shot straight upwards and towards the epicenter of the sculptures.

Shockingly, it didn't hit a single thing and landed without much fanfare.

Tom and Janna both let out a breathe of relief, Janna looked amused "For a second I thought it was gonna crash into something and start a domino chain reaction." As she took a step towards the door, Janna felt her ankle bump into something. Looking down there was a long cord wrapped around the floor, the impact of her leg causing it to slightly move. The small movement nudged a nearby statue that began to shift and knock into another statue, the pattern continued as everything started to shake.

"Yeah, this is what I thought was gonna happen." Janna commented.

Chunks of metal began crashing down around the teens, a bowling ball missing Tom's head by inches "WHY IS THERE A BOWLING BALL?!" he shouted. Grabbing each other's wrists, Tom and Janna dashed to the exit as fast as they could "Tom, look out!" Janna pointed above the doorway, a platform attached to the surrounding wall was beginning to crumble, threatening to block the exit.

Dodging debris, they let go of their wrists as they approached the door. Janna pulled as hard as she could, the door was unmoving "It's stuck!" she cried in alarm. Tom grabbed the handle with her and they pulled as hard as they could, the platform swaying back and forth as it started to break apart "Why won't this stupid door open!?" Tom looked to the side and saw a sign that read 'push to open' "We're doing it wrong! Push instead!" he alerted his friend.

They began pushing the door inward, slowly getting it open. They both squeezed through as the platform crashed down on where they had been standing. Tom gaped at what they had just avoided, feeling his heart pump with adrenaline. He turned his attention to Janna, only to find her grinning ear to ear "That. Was. Awesome!" she cheered.

Tom watched her in disbelief "You enjoy almost getting killed?!"

The girl shrugged "It really adds a layer of excitement to life. Plus I've been in enough weird situations where this kind of stuff doesn't even scare me anymore."

Tom looked at her, kind of impressed "Wow, I think you might be even more fearless than Star. Is there anything that scares you?"

Janna froze in place, completely silent and staring into the distance with wide eyes "Uh, Janna?" Tom waved his hand in front of her. Inside her mind she could see something that truly terrifying, remembering the muffled cries of seagulls and screaming "…nope, not afraid of anything." She snapped back to normal.

"What was that all abo-"Tom tried to ask, until Janna placed her hand over his mouth "It was nothing now take a look behind us!" she yanked his head around. The area was covered in dozens of old machines and scraps, every other lightbulb was shattered and saws lay on workbenches covered in dust. A mountain of raw scrap metal lay dormant next to a large hole in the ground, a crane perched above it. Beside the scrap was a garage, and clearly visible inside was the truck Janna had shown him earlier.

"Hey, it's the thing!" Tom happily pointed; Janna did a fist pump in the air "Yes! Now let's get that final part!" they started running to the garage, as they got closer, Tom was able to see that the truck was a sickly orange color with green zig-zags across the sides. Something had been on top of the car but left only a small pipe where it once stood.

Janna made it inside first, she looked to the side and saw a light switch and flicked it on. The remaining lightbulbs flickered before spreading light into not only the garage, but the entire area. Approaching the truck, Janna swiftly punched open the window and climbed inside, Tom stood outside and waited for her "How's it looking?" he asked.

"Give me a minute." Janna replied from inside the truck. Tom could hear her rummaging around in the front seat, mumbling to herself as she looked around. A few moments passed before he heard her voice again "It's here! It's here and it's still in perfect condition!" the excitement in her voice brought a smile to Tom's face "Great! Bring it out and let's head back!" he called to her.

He could hear Janna unscrewing whatever was in there, knowing she would need a minute; Tom stepped aside to look at the rest of the junk. Most of the stuff in the garage was old cars and parts, but among them he also saw some old tools and shreds of cloth "What did they do in here anyway?" Tom turned the corner and felt something sharp cut into his side "Agh, what the heck?" he saw a giant sawblade coming out of the ground, another across from it and a few more down the line. They were all built into the floorboards, which Tom could now see had tracks on them.

"It looks like some kind of saw mill for cars…" Tom noted. A whirling sound started rising in the distance, suddenly the area got a lot more noisy with beeps and saws overtaking the quiet "That sounds bad…" some creaks came from beside the boy as the blades came to life and the tracks on the ground began to move.

"Janna! You might wanna hurry it up!" Tom ran over to warn her. The truck was close enough to the track to start moving forward, in the line of at least 2 saws.

"I got it!" Janna poked her head out the window "Wait…why is this moving?" without warning, Tom grabbed her by the jacket and yanked her out the window. Janna came crashing down on top of Tom as they fell over to the side of the garage, just in time to see the truck Janna had been in get sliced in half.

Janna switched her attention from the truck back to the guy she landed on "Thanks for the save Tom." The demon stared at her with unblinking eyes, his face turning a little red "Uh, no problem…can you get off me? I can't breathe…" Janna hopped back onto her feet and helped up the demon "How'd the saws go on?" Janna asked.

Tom went over to the light switch Janna had turned on, he tried to flick it off but it just let out a few sparks "I'm not a mechanic, but it looks like every single thing that needs electricity is controlled by this single switch."

As Tom tried to turn everything back off, a crash sounded close by "What now?" Tom sighed. The duo left the garage to see what else was happening, all the lights illuminated the machinery as everything once dead came back to life around them. The crane was grapping loads of scrap and dropping it into the pit below, the sounds of metal being destroyed and torn apart sounded from further down. The dusty power tools that lay abandoned on benches shook and flung themselves to the ground. Saws, compactors and drills filled the air with their loud screeching.

The aged structures keeping machines in their place had already begun to tear away over years of disuse, everything becoming active at once turned the Metal Garden into a literal death trap.

A power drill flung from where it rested and nearly hit Tom in the face "WHY IS EVERYTHING IN THIS WHOLE STUPID PLACE TRYING TO KILL US?!"

Taking in all that was happening around them, Janna studied the crane beside them "Hey, this thing reaches pretty high up. How come the security system doesn't shoot at it?" she pulled the demons attention to the towering contraption.

Looking up, Tom decided to take off into the air again. Like before the security system shot at him, but when he grabbed onto the crane, the lasers ceased.

Janna cupped her hands around her mouth, she shouted up to Tom "It must be programmed not to hit in that crane! We can use that to get out!"

"Good idea! I'll come down and get you in a second!" Tom called down. The second he let go, the laser's shot again, only stopping when he held back on "So it looks like I have to be right on this thing or it shoots! I can't get down without getting shot at!"

Taking the part in her hand and shoving it in her backpack, Janna ran up to the bottom of the crane and tossed her jacket off. She looped it around part of the crane and grabbed on to it. She used her jacket to help her climb upwards. The sudden jerking as the machine moved to grab more junk to throw in had threatened to toss her off.

"Janna, what are you doing?!" Tom cried in alarm.

Regaining her grip, Janna kept pulling herself up the crane "If you can't get back down, then I'm coming up!" she shouted "I saw this in a movie once, it's going to work!" she got another foot higher.

Tom could do nothing but watch nervously as Janna pulled herself higher and higher. Every time the crane moved he prayed it didn't knock her off. Somehow she kept going, inch by inch getting closer to Tom. Within minutes, she had almost reached the top "Come on, keep climbing!" Janna willed herself up; her arms were getting tired, so she pushed through the pain.

Janna had been focusing so hard on going up, she nearly let go in surprise as her head bumped into a boot "You did it!" she heard Tom say above her "Was there any doubt?" she smirked as she climbed onto Tom's back "If you fly up fast enough and straight up, the security system might not go after you." She explained.

"Might not? I thought you were sure about this?" Tom questioned.

"I just climbed 30 feet of metal, would I do that if I didn't have faith in this?" Janna retorted "Just do it!"

Gulping down the lump in his throat, Tom shot flames from his feet and took off as fast as he was able to. Janna clung on for dear life as she screaming with excitement "YEAH! This is better than any rollercoaster!"

Much to Tom's relief, the security system failed to detect him, leaving the two free to fly back home "We did it; I can't believe we actually pulled that off!" Tom cheered.

Janna shifted so that Tom was carrying her instead of riding on his back "And I got the last part!" she pulled the piece from her backpack "Oh yeah! What is that thing anyway?" Tom asked.

"It's a car horn that plays La Cucaracha!"

Tom felt the urge to drop her "ALL OF THIS WAS FOR A CAR HORN?!" Janna pressed on the horn and laughed at the sound "Aw, that's perfect!"

OXOXOXOX

Marco sat in his room alone, reading a book. He heard a knock on his door, and an annoyed demon walked through the doorway. Tom took a seat on Marco's floor and wordlessly grabbed his controller out.

"Jannanigans?" Marco asked.

"Jannanigans." Tom confirmed.

Marco took a seat beside his friend and pulled up a game on his laptop, plugging their controllers into an adapter "I can't believe you willing go with her on those things." He turned on the game, getting to the character select screen before Tom started talking again.

"She takes me to a place where literally anything can kill you, proceeds to get us in several situations where we can get hurt, and in the end it was all for something insignificant and stupid!" The demon ranted.

"Then why do you still hang out with her?" Marco wondered, waiting for the battle to start. Tom sighed "Well for one thing she would have gotten killed without me, but honestly, no matter how much danger she gets us into, no matter how crazy she ends up driving me, I actually find myself caring about her."

Marco looked a little surprised "You know, that's how I felt about Star when we first got to know each other. She was reckless in adventures, nearly got us killed multiple times, once over a sandwich, and I found myself questioning my sanity. But it's those adventures that brought us so close together, now I can't live without her."

Tom jokingly fake gagged "Dude, do not compare me and Janna to you and Star. The two of us are actually just friends. There's no way I'd ever have a crush on her."

THAT NIGHT

Tom stared up at his ceiling, wide awake in bed. His thoughts reflected on the day he had and the girl he spent it with...

"Crap, I have a crush on her!"


	17. I See the Light

**Sorry for the wait, some of the upcoming chapters will take a little longer to write due to length.**

**Welcome back to this fanfiction, where it's all random and has no plot whatsoever!**

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The land of Earthni was beautiful as the sun rose over the horizon, humans, mewmans, and monsters alike all awoke to start the day.

The sun's golden rays shone brightly as they reached Star's bedroom. The young Butterfly opened her eyes, waking up from a nice dream "Morning world." She yawned sleepily. She nearly went back to sleep, before remembering what today was "Wait…today's the day!" she shot out of bed.

She pulled out her phone to double check the date, the screen lighting up to reveal a screensaver of her and Marco making silly faces. The date listed on the calendar read 'January 18', Star's face brightened to see that she was correct. Star tip toed over the sleeping Non-Laser Puppies and entered her bathroom. She quickly got dressed in her classic green dress with the squid-ghost in front and her horned headband; she grabbed a roll of her pink heart face stickers and placed one on each of her cheeks.

She swung her star shaped bag over her shoulder as she ran out of her room and down the hallway of the Monster Temple. Seeing the staircase approaching, she jumped and slid down the bannister, doing a little flip as she reached the bottom.

"Today is gonna be perfect!"

OXOXOXOX

Inside the Diaz household, Marco was packing a picnic basket full of food. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tiny hand reach out beside him "Mariposa, are you trying to grab the cookies?" he playfully questioned his baby sister. Mariposa retracted her hand and acted innocent, giggling at her own mischief.

Picking her up, Marco swung Mariposa in the air, her letting out a bigger laugh "You can't pull the wool over your big brother's eyes!" he booped her nose.

"Aaaww."

Marco froze as his parents entered the room, placing Mariposa back in her high chair and blushing furiously. Mrs. Diaz came up to her eldest child and ruffled his hair "You are a great big brother." She told him. His embarrassment turned to pride, happy to know he was doing a good job.

"What's the picnic for mijo?" Mr. Diaz asked his son.

"Today is the five month anniversary of Earth and Mewni merging. Not only that but Star said that it's also the day of this rare star shower that only happens once a decade." Marco explained as he hid the cookies in the box before Mariposa went after them again.

Mrs. Diaz raised an eyebrow "But that was back on Mewni, will the star shower happen now that the dimensions are mixed?"

Marco nodded "Yeah, some astronomers were talking about it on the news. It's still happening and Queen Eclipsa is hosting an outdoor star shower watching party in the park." He gestured to the basket "Me and Star are gonna have a romantic picnic date there tonight!"

His parents stared 'aww-ing' again "You two are so precious together!" his dad wiped a tear from his eye. More started coming out, his wife and kids looked at him in concern "Rafael?" Mrs. Diaz asked concerned. Mr. Diaz continued crying "Young love is so beautiful!"

Slowly backing away from his emotional father, Marco grabbed the basket and head towards the door. He opened it to find his beloved waiting for him on the other side "Ready to head out?" Star asked. Marco grabbed her hand "Yeah, totally." The two began walking off down the street.

OXOXOXOX

It was only around 10:30 and the park was already full of people. Picnic blankets cluttered the grass and several barbeque grills were set up.

"You were right about coming early, this place is packed." Star noted as she scanned the ground for an open space. A familiar braid of silvery blue hair caught her attention "Hey, It's my mom! Hi mom!" Star pulled her boyfriend along as she ran towards her mother.

The former Queen turned around and smiled as she saw her daughter approaching "Star, how wonderful it is to see you!" Moon opened her arms as Star jumped into a hug "It's great that you could make it to the Celestial Cosmic Convergence!"

Marco raised an eyebrow "Is that what the star shower is called?"

Letting go of her daughter, Moon turned to Marco "Yes, the Celestial Cosmic Convergence is a huge event! I'm glad it is still going to occur in this dimension."

"I haven't seen it since I was a little girl!" Star bounced around excitedly "Back then we had a huge party just like this with everyone eating corn as they watched the stars fall across the sky!"

"It's more than just a party, Star. It's the only time when several planets align and cast a massive burst of energy into space that sends old and dying stars across the galaxy as they are reborn into new stars." Moon explained.

The young couple stared up into the sky "I bet it's gonna look even prettier with the rainbow lights in the sky." Star hoped. Marco turned to her "It's called an aurora borealis, you know that." "Yeah, but rainbow lights is quicker to say."

OXOXOXOX

Around lunchtime, Star and Marco had finally gotten a good spot to set their picnic blanket on. Marco wanted to save the food he had brought with him for dinner, so they opted to head over to the huge barbeque stands Eclipsa had set up. Meats and corn roasted over open flames as everyone stood in line and waited for a taste.

As the couple approached, they saw various people coming from the opposite direction looking annoyed "Wonder what's got all those people bothered?" Marco asked. The sound of a megaphone's feedback reached his ears; Marco looked to where the sound was coming from and his eyes widened.

"Star, you might wanna see this." He cautiously spoke as he tugged her sleeve. Concern crossed Star's face as she looked at Marco's own, following his eyes to see a ragged lady standing on a wooden box beside the park entrance. Her shill voice booming over the megaphone, preaching to any who got close enough.

"Gather round people! It is time we finally drove these horrid monsters out of Mewni! They have been a plague on our great society for far too long! Who is with me!"

Everyone nearby silently stare at her, one baby starts wailing even. They proceed to ignore her and go about their own business.

"Hmf! Fine, I don't need your help anyway!"

"Mina Loveberry?!"

The ex-super soldier turned around at the sound of her name, coming face to face with Star and Marco "Well, well, well, if it ain't my old mud sister and her little boy toy. I haven't seen ya since you ruined by plan to destroy all monsters." She sounded surprisingly chipper "Are ya here to join my new army?"

"That's a hard no." Marco responded.

"You have a new army?" Star asked, taking a cautious step back.

Mina scoffed "Heck yeah! But so far I'm the only one in my army! I had that Manfred guy but he quit, just because a giant sat on his face and killed him!" she rolled her eyes.

Star and Marco exchanged concerned glances, Star decided to speak up "Mina, look. No one is going to join your army. Things have really changed these last five months. Monsters and Mewmans are finally co-existing in peace." Star reached out to Mina, who only flinched away "Ha! All that peace stuff is a bunch of bologna! Mewni will never be at peace as long as monsters live here!"

Star's face tightened into a frown "Look around Mina! This isn't Mewni anymore! This is Earthni! Magic is gone, you've lost your powers, it's time to move on!"

"Move on…" Mina felt something snap "MOVE ON!? Protecting the people of Mewni is my one purpose! I have been doing my duties for centuries, and you want me to just give it all up? For what, holding hands with monsters and being friends?! No way Jose, I don't want part in any world that accepts monsters!"

Mina took in deep breaths as she finished her rant; her frenzy had attracted the unwanted attention of the masses who gazed at her in pity. Unable to stand their gaze, Mina stomped off angrily into the bushes.

As the crowd continued their own business, Star and Marco stood in place. Neither had any idea how to feel, they both hated her and yet somehow they felt sorry for her.

"Star, Marco!"

The two whirled around to see Eclipsa running towards them. Instead of her usual attire, she had on a white and black striped t-shirt and black shorts with matching sandals. The Queen approached the two and skid to a stop "Oh I am so glad you both could make it! I'd rather hoped you hadn't seen that but a thank you is in order for getting Mina out of here."

"Has she been doing that for a while?" Marco asked.

Eclipsa nodded "Sadly, but at the very least no one is taking her side this time around." The queen shuddered at the memory of the events leading to the cleaving "Regardless of her, the integration of monsters into society has been a massive success! Ninety five percent of the monsters have been declared official citizens of the kingdom of Earthni!"

That news brought a smile back to the duo's faces "Really? That's amazing!" Star commented, Marco tilted his head "What about the other five percent?"

"Well, the last five percent is the Septarians. Shortly after the worlds merged they just up and vanished without a trace." Eclipsa explained. Star put her fingers to her chin as she made a pondering pose "I wonder what happened to them?"

OXOXOXOX

Somewhere in the deepest, darkest depths of Earthni, is an underground base. The entrance was a manhole covered in moss and vines, a secret knock would open the hatch and lead into the secret home of the Septarian species.

"Can someone pass the Cliffside Dew and Triangle chips!?" One Septarian shouted across the room.

"Think fast!" A female lizard with a black dress and hat tossed a bag of chips and bottle of soda over the room towards the shouting Septarian. The snacks proceeded to land on the guy's head and make him drop his Z-Box controller "Nice going Ariel! Now I got bumped to 7th place!"

Instead of a war room, the Septarian base was more of a cool hangout. Three TV's sat against the wall as several lizards sat with game controllers and various snack foods. Pool tables were set up in the middle next to the soda machine. A side table full of computers was filled with Septarians browsing the internet as they munched on freshly made pizza from the kitchen. By the wall of the room was a dartboard, the picture had so many holes it was impossible to make out whose photograph it was.

One Septarian by the name of Rasticore lined up his dart before he took a shot. The tiny dart zoomed through the air and hit a bullseye, causing those watching to erupt in cheers "Haha, I am still the undefeated champion of darts!" Rasticore cheered.

The cheers were silenced as a door slammed from up above, a figure approached onto the balcony. Everyone in the room groaned and looked annoyed "Aw geez, here we go again." One pressed pause on his game as he commented.

From up on the balcony, a sinister silhouette drew closer and closer, so that all may bask in his glory "Fellow Septarians, the time has come, for us to take back what is rightfully ours!" The figure announced "It is time for the Mewman's to once again feel the wrath…of Seth of Septarsis!" a burst of lightning shot behind him for dramatic effect.

He expected his people to be cheering his name, ready and at arms to strike at any moment. The reality was that everyone went back to what they were doing before, save for Rasticore who went up the ramp to the balcony. He approached Seth as the elder Septarian seethed in silence "Uh, boss. Can I have a quick word with you?"

Paying no attention to the lizard talking to him, Seth snarled at the others below "Look at them all! I gather all of us together to take down the Butterfly's, and what do they do? They play on those moving screen games and drink fizzy juice all day!? I am their leader, why do they not fear me like before?"

"Well…you're kind of old now." Rasticore pointed out.

Coming out of the shadows, the intimidating figure of Seth is revealed to be a wrinkly, ancient lizard in a wheelchair "How dare you call me old! Back in my day we used to cut off your head if you spoke to your leader that way!"

"Ok but, our heads grow back. It's more of a minor inconvenience really." Rasticore pointed out "Not to mention, we all thought you were dead for a really long time. Most of us never even knew you back when you were actually in charge-"too late did Rasticore realize his poor choice of words. The elder bared his fangs and pulled Rasticore down to his eye level "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ACTUALLY IN CHARGE?! You mean before Toffee stole my place? Before that crystal with snakes for arms froze me in crystal for all those years? Before he forgot about taking me to his dimension and leaving me stuck in a basement for all this time? Like it or not, I am and always will be in charge! As leader of Septarsis, I declared war against mewmanity and we will destroy them all!"

Rasticore avoided eye contact "Y'know about that. Every other day you make a big speech and try and get us out there. But honestly, we're all sick of fighting. This place isn't even Mewni, this place has cool video games and delicious pizza, we don't wanna destroy it."

Seth's anger only skyrocketed; he tried to push Rasticore down the ramp, but only got him to nudge a little. Rasticore cringed at his attempts to hurt him "You really can't fight anymore anyway." Seth's eyes widened and he scooted himself away "That is it! You're all grounded!" he announced to everyone. All the Septarians groaned and booed in response, their misery giving Seth a sense of victory over his subordinates "You're all grounded until further notice. So no games, pizza or interwebbing until I say so!"

With that, Seth rolled himself into a nearby elevator "I will be strategizing in my room. Do not disturb me!" the doors shut and the wrinkly lizard was gone, leaving everyone else to stare at the elevator in silence "You know, one of these days we should totally overthrow him." One septarian suggested. The others murmured in agreement.

OXOXOXOX

The hours passed and night began to fall. The dark skies over Earthni were painted rainbow by the constant aurora in the sky. People of all different species sat on blankets in the park, awaiting the Celestial Cosmic Convergence to arrive.

Star bounced in her seat with excitement, beside her Marco was cleaning up from their picnic dinner "It's almost time Marco! I can't wait till you get to see it; the stars are so pretty during the cosmic converse thing!"

Putting the last plate away, Marco turned his attention to his girlfriend "I don't know, the Star I'm looking at is already super pretty." He pulled an arm over her shoulder, watching as her cheeks turned red "Aw, you've been waiting a while to use a line like that haven't you?" "I have."

With only minutes to spare, the young couple laid down on the blanket as they watched the sky, their hands practically glued together "Marco?" "Yeah Star?" "I'm really happy we merged our dimensions together. This is the kind of peaceful life I've dreamed of. Just the two of us being together makes me happier than anything else." Star admitted. Marco sent her a lovestruck smile "Me too Star, me too." He pulled in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, making her giggle.

"Look, it's starting!" a voice shouted from the crowd.

Taking their eyes off of each other, Star and Marco stared in awe as a cascade of shooting stars began covering the sky "Wow, this is beautiful." Marco spoke in awe.

The rainbow colored sky became filled with shooting streaks of light, the crowd staring in wonder at the phenomenon taking place. Star was starstruck as she watched "I never knew my name could be so bright." The sky started glowing brighter as the aurora's lit up "Now that's really bright." Star was surprised; she did not remember this happening last time. The stars caused the northern lights to keep getting brighter and brighter, until a huge burst of light blinded everyone watching.

Star and Marco covered their eyes from the intense light, a burning feeling in the pit of their stomachs. As quickly as it came, the flash ended. But when everyone opened their eyes, the aurora borealis had disappeared from the sky.

"Was that supposed to happen?" "Mommy, where'd the rainbow go?" "My eyes!" "Now what am I going to do with all these steamed hams?!"

Everyone talked over each other, the star's had finished falling by the time everyone had regained their sight. Star searched the sky in confusion "What…what just happened?" Marco was speechless at what had occurred, sending a concerned look to the girl beside him.

OXOXOXOX

Beyond the boundaries of time and space, is a dimension of nothingness. The sole occupant watches from a distance as the falling stars pass him by, feeling the raw energy released by the convergence. A gate sits between the thing and the stars, unable to touch for many eons. A dark claw touches against the gate, the magic keeping it closed now gone, this time he can reach the star's power. With a punch, the gate is punctured with a single hole. Two pure black orbs fit through the crack, and start their descent to a certain dimension.

OXOXOXOX

Following the strange flash in the sky, most of the people at the park went home, while Eclipsa and Moon stayed with a few others to figure out what that light was. Marco ended up walking Star back to the Monster Temple so they could watch a movie together.

The moment Marco stepped into Star's room, the puppies ran over and jumped on top of him "Aw hey pups! Ow, Sajak your hurting my stomache!"

"So cute." Star giggled as the puppies licked Marco's face "I'm gonna freshen up, you go and grab a movie." She walked inside her bathroom.

Star removed her headband and placed it on the counter beside her. The brush beside it was picked up and promptly brushed through Star's long blonde hair as the tangles it had gained during the day disappeared. After her hair looked nice enough, Star placed the brush down and proceeded to remove her heart stickers from her cheeks.

When she lifted the stickers up, there were real pink hearts decorating her cheeks.

"…What?" Star stared at her reflection in confusion "Did I put on a second set?" she tried to pull the hearts off her face, instead pulling on her cheek "Ow ow ow ow!" letting go, she rubbed the hearts. No change. Star turned on the sink and splashed water on her face, a good minute of washing and there was no difference. Star's face sank as the truth hit her.

"Marco!"

Leaving the bathroom, Marco was sitting beside her bed covered in puppies "Is everything alright Star?" he could tell something was off by the way she called him.

Star pointed to her hearts "My hearts are back! My real hearts!"

The sense of dread that was coursing through Star had spread to Marco, who rushed over to examine her cheeks. Verifying that the marks were genuine "They really have come back! How?! When?! Why?!"

Star shook her head "I don't know! I just took off my stickers and there they were! Mom and Eclipsa didn't have their marks back when we left them thirty minutes ago!" panic rose in her chest. Marco held her firmly by the shoulders "If they don't have their marks, then we can rule out magic as a cause."

Star took a deep breath as she felt Marco's hand lift from her shoulders "Yeah, that can't be the cause. If it were then something would happen when I say Narwhal Blast-" her palms glowed in a golden light as a narwhal came bursting out from her hand, slamming into the wall as it flopped around.

Star and Marco stared in utter disbelief, before turning to each other and acting in a calm and composed manner.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

OXOXOXOX

"Stupid Mewmans, Don't they know I'm only trying to save them from the monsters?!" Mina ranted to herself as she walked through the forest late at night "There has to be some way I can really get rid of all the monsters?"

No sooner had she said that, did a dark sphere come crashing from the heavens and right down in front of her. Mina crouched down, staring at the orb in disbelief "Well, what do we have here?"

Elsewhere…

"Those no good hooligans! Refusing to fight is one thing, but calling me old, that is too far!" Seth rolled his wheelchair by a cliffside, overlooking the ocean as he ranted to himself "All these newfound technology Mewman's have gained, it has made them weak! Mewmans are the enemy! I have to remind them of that!"

From up above, another dark sphere landed down close to the elderly lizard, making a small crater on imact "What the?" Seth reached over and grabbed the orb "Maybe this is just what I need."

OXOXOXOX

It had been another hour before Marco arrived back in his own room. Star had been able to use a few spells to confirm that magic was back. The revelation sent her into a massive panic attack. Marco held her in his arms as he tried to console her, it took a while but she ended up falling asleep in his arms. As much as he wanted to stay with her, he had to go home.

"Ok Marco. First thing in the morning I need to get back to Star and figure out what we're going to do." He told himself as he looked in his bathroom mirror "It's only magic, whatever happens, it can't be that bad can it?"

Removing his hoodie, Marco got ready to change into his pajamas. Lifting his shirt over his head, he froze. In the middle of his stomache, was a black stain with a single dark vein coming from it.

"Oh no."


	18. Magic

**Yep, this fic has a plot after all!**

**Let me just make one thing clear, this story arc was always planned at the midpoint of the fic. Afterwards, the one-shots will resume. I came up with this psuedo-season 5 arc because their was still some unresolved plot points that I wish could have been explored in canon. Yes, I know bringing back magic is cliche, but I like to think about what Daron Nefcy said once "I feel like it's in the DNA of the universe to solve one problem but create another."**

**On to answering some review stuff:**

**To animegamefanatic and Guest: Sadly (Or not) Glossaryck and the MHC are killed off for real. They will not be seen outside of flashbacks.**

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Like he had promised yesterday, Marco Diaz returned to the monster temple bright and early the next morning. He approached Star's door and gently knocked on it "Star? Are you awake yet?" A voice called from behind the door "She's up! You can come in!" the masculine voice on the other side surprised Marco, who proceeded to swing open the door to find who it had come from.

Star Butterfly was sitting on her bed, fully dressed and writing words down in a notepad. Beside her on the bed, was a small purple spider in a top hat.

"Spider with a Top Hat?!" Marco gasped in shock.

Star quickly shushed him and motioned for Marco to shut the door beside him. Once he had done so, Star took a deep breath "Marco, you remember my strongest spell Spider with a Top Hat blast?" the little spider waved to him "How're you doing?"

"Uh, hey." Marco awkwardly greeted the talking arachnid "So your spells are back?" Star nodded in confirmation "Yep, Cloudy, Warnicorns, Spidey here, I can summon them again. I woke up a few hours ago and started interviewing them about what's going on." Star passed her notebook to Marco, the information scribbled on the pages was basically useless, the information that wasn't was very scarce "My spells have no idea what's happening either. Spider, tell him what you and the others told me."

The tiny spider hopped over and jumped on top of Star's notebook as he addressed Marco "Well, one second all of us are minding our own business. The next it feels like we were all hit with a pause button, but a second later we all unpaused. Only Star says it wasn't a second, but five months! In addition to that, all the other spells created by former queens are gone!"

Star gave Spider a pet on the head "Thanks for your help Spider. Even if we couldn't find any answers." Spider tipped his hat to her "Your welcome Star! Call on us anytime!" and with that, Spider poofed away back to where he came from. Once he was gone, Star groaned and buried her face in her hands "All my spells, I never stopped to think what would happen to them once magic is gone! Since the puppies were alright, I thought the rest would be too."

Marco put his arm around Star, leaning her head onto his shoulder "You shouldn't blame yourself; The Solarians left us no choice but to destroy magic. At least the spells are alright now." A tugging on his ankle brought Marco's attention downwards, the laser puppies staring up at him with their big cutesy eyes "Speaking of the puppies…" "No, they don't have their lasers back." Star already knew what he was going to ask.

Pulling away from her boyfriend's arms, Star stood up and paced around her room "Well, the spells have no idea what's going on. We can't talk to my mom or Eclipsa, they would freak out. Who else would know about magic?"

"If magic is back, shouldn't Glossaryck and the High Commission be back too?" Marco wondered.

"I already checked, the High Commissions remains are still inert in that box, I think the snakes have died by the way, and the spell book is still missing one strange blue man." Star pulled out the old spellbook to show him, it was still just a regular book like it had been before Glossaryck inhabited it "Like it or not, I think we're on our own for this one."

Deep in thought, Marco placed his hand on his stomache. The dark stain hidden under the hoodie had kept him up most of the night, unlike why magic returned, he knew how the stain had happened. It was in the exact spot where he had been stabbed by the dark unicorn, dark and corrupted magic. The thoughts on what would happen to him had left little time for sleep "Star, there's something else I gotta tell you." The blonde stopped pacing in her tracks and gave her boyfriend her full attention.

Marco stood up and looked at her nervously "Star, there's-the whispering spell, have you tried that?" Marco froze, that was not what he wanted to say. Star didn't seem to notice Marco's perplexed look "I did try it, nothing happened."

"No wait!" Marco grabbed her hand "What I really meant to tell you is-there has to be someone who knows about magic out there!" Marco's eyes widened as the wrong words came out of his mouth again. Something was wrong. Star continued to think of anyone else with knowledge on how magic worked, while Marco stood to the side and tried to lift up his hoodie to show Star the dark stain. His hand would not lift his top up no matter how hard he tried; he felt forced to keep the darkness a secret.

With both teens lost in their thoughts, neither heard a low voice coming from over by the balcony "Time can show you the way." Neither were listening "Time can show you the way." Still not listening "TIME CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY!" the voice called louder, catching the duo's attention "Who said that?!" Star looked around her room, the voice sounded familiar to Marco "I think it came from up there!" he pointed to the balcony.

Star and Marco went upstairs towards Star's balcony, with Marco swiftly heading towards a portrait of a sea captain "Marco, why ya staring at the old portrait?" Star joined him "Back during the Blood Moon Ball, a voice urged me to go and follow you. I could swear it was the portrait talking to me." Marco recalled, placing a hand on the painting "What did that voice say? Time can show you the way?"

"Time…TIME! That's it!" Star grabbed Marco by the wrist "We need to go and ask Father Time! If time is still moving, he must still be alive!"

"Good theory, but one problem. The Dimensional Scissors don't work. How would we find him?" Marco pointed out. Both pondered for a moment "Marco, where are your scissors?" "You borrowed them last week when River got stuck in a girdle." Marco reminded her. Star walked past him and over to one of her drawers, taking out the scissors and hoisting them high in the air.

"Marco, I'm gonna try something." She warned, Star closed her eyes and began focusing on the scissors. Feeling the magic coursing through her, she directed it into the scissors as it began to glow gold. She held the scissors out in front of her and began cutting the air.

A portal appeared.

The two stared in shock at the swirling blue portal before them "Star, how did you-""I-I focused my magic and sent it into the scissors…I actually can't believe it worked." Star laughed in disbelief. Placing his hand inside of hers, Marco smiled fondly at her "I can, you're always amazing." Side by side, hand in hand, Star and Marco walked through the portal.

OXOXOXOX

The Plains of Time looked just as it did the last time they both were there; it made sense since the dimension was of time itself. Star and Marco walked past a tree of melting clocks as they called out for Father Time "Father Time! Are you still alive? It's Star and Marco, we need help!" Star's voice echoed across the land, the speeding turtles and sluggish bunnies paid them no mind as they passed.

Marco looked around unsure; he almost voiced his concerns until he heard the sound of wheels turning a little ways away "Do you hear that? It sounds like-"

Marco was cut off as a large wheel driven by giant hamsters sped through the valley, nearly hitting Marco as it came to a stop beside them, the blue man with a long beard happily greeted them "Hey, it's you kids! I haven't seen you since…I'm not entirely sure. Time is complicated."

"Father Time!" both exclaimed, glad to see that he was alive "How are you still alive? When magic was destroyed it should have taken out magical beings too!" as the words left Star's mouth, she flinched as the guilt crept back in her chest.

Father Time laughed "Oh I'm not a magical being, I'm a spiritual being!"

Seeing the teens blink in confusion, Father Time realized they needed a better explanation "You see, while magic beings like the guy with the skull head get their power from magic. I am what's called a spirit, a construct of a concept itself. Some spirits have existed since the dawn of the universe; some were once mortals who achieved incredible feats in life."

"Woah, Glossaryck never told me about any of that!" Star gaped; Father Time snapped his fingers as he recognized the name "Oh the other blue guy with a beard! He wasn't a spirit; I don't think there's a spirit of magic. Let's see there's time, souls, destruction, breakfast foods…" he trailed off as he tried to think of others.

While learning about how the universe worked was interesting, the couple had a different subject they needed to learn about "Uh Father Time?" Marco spoke up, getting the spirits attention "We came here cause we need help. Magic is back, but only Star has it and we have no clue why or how it's happening. Do you know anyone that could help us figure it out?"

"Welllll…" Father Time placed his hand on his chin as he thought "Not a lot of us spirits get mixed up in magic." Star and Marco's hopes began to fall, wondering if they misinterpreted the voice "Y'know, there is one guy I can think of whose talked about magic before. The spirit of navigation, he and the keeper of souls sometimes hang out over the lake full of clocks a mile that way." He pointed past a large hill.

"Thanks Father Time, any lead is good enough right now." Star smiled at the blue man "Don't mention it, you guys were the ones who got me out of the wheel, Tally-ho!" he whipped the reins, prompting the hamsters to start dashing forward.

OXOXOXOX

It took ten minutes to get to the lake full of clocks. Exactly as it was described, it was a big lake full of clocks "Well, it's exactly what it says on the label." Marco quipped. His companion searched the shoreline for anyone else, in the midst of all the clocks, there was an old ship parked against a dock (that was also made of clocks, a clock dock if you will.)

Skidding down the hill, Star and Marco hurried over to where the ship was, a figure became visible as they approached the boat. As they slowed down when they reached their destination, the figure came closer and peered over the side of the boat "Well, well, it looks like ye understood me message after all." He spoke in a raspy voice, one that they both recognized.

"You-you're the voice that told us to come here!" Marco gasped, beside him; Star looked even more shocked as the captain from her portrait moved out of the shadows and became visible to them both "Marco! That's the legendary Alphonse the Worthy! He mapped out every dimension, helped barter peace between mewmans and monsters, and was a close companion to Queen Solaria!"

Alphonse let out a hearty laugh "Ye know your stuff young Star!"

"You know my name?!" Star's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Aye, I know both of ye very well! I've been keeping an eye on ye from my painting!" Alphonse lowered a ramp before the couple, motioning for them to join him on board "Come, we have much to discuss."

Star and Marco walked onto the boat as Alphonse laid out four lawn chairs on the deck "Why are there four chairs, there's only three of us?" Marco pointed out. Placing the last chair down, Alphonse turned to the sky "I invited the spirit and guardian of souls to sit down with us. Well, she can't exactly sit down, so it's more of a curtesy really."

Following his gaze, the couple saw the sky gain a red tint; a quick glow came forth, leaving a glowing, red moon in the sky "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" at this point in his life, Marco was not all that surprised, more exasperated than anything "Why is the Blood Moon here?! We already lifted its stupid curse!"

Alphonse winces as the Blood Moon starts rapidly flashing, somehow the flashes felt angry as they went on "Calm down Blood Moon! Ye know they don't know what you actually do!" Alphonse called up towards the sky, the flashing ceased, only for a few slower flashes to follow after "Aye, I'll tell them."

Star and Marco stared at the sea captain like he was crazy "Are you…talking to the Blood Moon?" Star asks.

"Yep, Blood Moon's flashes are morse code. It's the only way she can communicate when not in the spirit world." Alphonse explained the Blood Moon flashing in confirmation. Marco glanced at the moon suspiciously "So can you start by telling us why you called us here? If you were in the painting, couldn't we just talk to you from there?"

Alphonse sighed "It not be that simple. Spirit's rarely get involved in mortal affairs, but because of our roles, me and Blood Moon end up making contact with mortals often. But it's hard to manifest ourselves for long in your world, so we called ye to this dimension between our realms." Raising an eyebrow, Star asked "So what is your job?"

"After I died, I ended up becoming the spirit of navigation. My job is to help mortals reach where they need to be. For example, bringing you two here so that we can assist you in figuring out this magic business, or leading ye to the Blood Moon Ball so the Blood Moon could shine on ye." The captain spoke. Marco glared at him "Why would you want to put a curse on us?"

The Blood Moon started angrily flashing again, Alphonse held up his hand and let out a deep sigh "History can be a cruel mistress, as the ages go by, the truth is warped and facts are forgotten. What is now known as a curse was originally a blessing. " The couple's eyes widened in surprise, they moved their eyes up towards the moon.

The Blood Moon sadly flashed, Alphonse translated the sentences "It was nothing more than a promise, that true love would always find a way to be together. That is why the captain urged you to come to the ball, so that I could help protect the love that the two of you already had growing in your hearts. But those stupid rumors and that horrible no good Severing Stone had to go and twist the truth and-"The Blood Moon's flashes became angry again, causing the captain to cease translating and looked aghast "Hey! I am not translating that! I may be a sailor, but ye language is far cruder than mine!"

Watching a dead sailor argue with the moon was entertaining for a while, but Star and Marco felt they had gotten off track on why they were here "Uh guys?" Star spoke up, getting both spirits attention "Thanks for the backstory, but we need to get back to the matter at hand. Magic is back, only I have it, and we don't have a clue on why either of that is!" Star slammed her hands on the sides of her chair; the stress was really showing on the young girl as she placed a hand to her forehead, rubbing her temples to calm her nerves.

Clearing his throat Alphonse returned to the matter at hand "Aye, ye be right. So from what I be hearing, magic suddenly came back last night?"

"Yeah." Marco confirmed "We were watching the Celestial Cosmic Convergence, when the aurora that was constantly in the sky flashed really bright and disappeared. That is probably when Star's hearts came back, but with the stickers on her face, no one noticed." Marco shared his theory.

"Hmm, while I do have some inkling on how magic works, I think the laws of thermodynamics may be of better help in this situation." Alphonse responded.

Star tilted her head "Thermomawhatawa?"

"Thermodynamics Star, It's the laws of energy." Marco recalled "Do you not remember science class?" A blank stare was all the answer Marco needed "Never mind."

"So ye know of thermodynamics, lad? Tell me, Have ye heard of the law of conservation of energy?" Alphonse looked to Marco, who thought back to what he had learned in class "I think…it's that energy cannot be destroyed, only contained or changed into a different form."

Alphonse looked impressed "Ye are a smart kid, now what essentially is magic?"

"Magic is…energy…" Marco started to figure out where this was leading "Wait a second, are you implying that magic was never destroyed?!"

Hearing his words, Star nearly fell out of her seat "What! Marco, we did the whispering spell! We watched it die!"

The Blood Moon flashed a response; Alphonse nodded "Good point." Star and Marco stared blankly at the captain; it took a moment for him to realize he needed to translate "Oh right! Ye can't understand morse. The Blood Moon asked if magic had died, then how did the worlds merge AFTER the realm of magic collapsed." Hearing that one question made Star's heart stop, she realized they were right, that couldn't have happened if the realm was gone "So the magic…is stuck somewhere?"

The Blood Moon flashed a few times, adding its own input on the subject "Good theory, she asks if the aurora you mentioned could have been connected to why magic hadn't come back before." Alphonse spoke.

"That would explain why it was always there, and it shouldn't have been geographically possible in the first place." Marco pondered "But then why would it disappear during the convergence?"

With a jolt, Star jumped up and gasped loudly "It was the Convergence!" her sudden action caused Marco to tip over his chair and fall sideways onto the deck "Mom said the Convergence was when dying stars are reborn! If magic was in a 'dead' state, the energy from that event may have caused the magic to be reborn as well!"

"I believe reset is a better term for it." Alphonse spoke "It's like those smartphones ye have. If ye reset it, it returns to its default settings." Marco looked astounded "How do you know what a smartphone even is?" "I may be dead, but I still be current with the times." Alphonse sounded somewhat offended.

Holding out her hand, Star let a spark of magic glow in her palm. The golden light emitting from it was bright enough to light up the surrounding area "Now that I think about it, my magic feels different than before. I can't feel any of the darker spells I learned, not to mention my magic used to be a pinkish color. But now it's gold like my Butterfly form…" mentioning her winged form, Star realized she had not yet tried to summon it. She focused and tried to shift into Butterfly form, but found that nothing happened.

"Star?" Marco said her name in concern, she stopped trying to transform "My Butterfly form, it's gone!" she still felt tiny pink wings on her back, but trying to shift into their larger version was impossible now.

Stroking his beard, Alphonse walked over and inspected the magic radiating from Star's palm "Those butterfly forms were a product of the old magic, like the commission and Glossaryck. I don't think they be coming back." He solemnly voiced his thoughts "Magic is back to its basic structure, now I don't know why ye be the only one affected by it, but I do know you have to keep it safe. Who knows what else the convergence has caused."

OXOXOXOX

Back on Earthni, Mina Loveberry was trekking through the untamed wilderness. Resting in her arms was the dark orb that had fallen in front of her the previous night. She paid some attention to it as she focused on avoiding pitfalls and uneven road as she marched forward.

"Let's see now, it should be only a few kilometers away." Moving the sphere closer to her face, a blinking red arrow pulsed near the top. It acted like a compass as she used it to guide her way "Man, I bet your taking me somewhere great little orb! Hopefully an old weapons silo."

A twig broke from the other side of a bush, causing Mina to jump and assume a fighting stance "Who goes there!?" she called out, receiving a groan from where the noise came from. Out of the bush, slowly wheeling through was a very annoyed Seth "Mina Loveberry, what do I owe the pleasure?"

Seeing the once great Septarian leader wrinkled and in a wheel chair, Mina burst into laughter "Oh! Oh, this is rich! Seth of Septarsis reduced to a crotchety old man! You're barely even worth the time to kill anymore!"

"I could say the same to you, you look like a hobo." Seth quipped, Mina sniffed her shirt and gagged "Maybe I do need a bath." She muttered under her breath.

"Now what business do you have here?!" Seth demanded, rolling up and pushing a finger to her face "I don't have to tell you anything! You old monster!" she spat back.

The orb Mina had been holding begun to shake, an identical orb Seth had in his wheelchair did the same "Where did you get that orb?!" they both pointed fingers at each other.

In one swift motion, the two orbs flew towards each other in the air. They collided and formed one larger orb, the size of a classroom globe. It appeared to be made of a glass like material, with black mist swirling constantly inside. Mina and Seth leaned in to get a better look at the thing, only for a pair of glowing red eyes to open up and cause them to flinch back.

"So, you two are the ones my spheres have chosen. Not much to look at are we?" A voice came from inside the orb. Mina pointed her a rusty knife at it, not caring that the thing was as dull as a butter knife "Are you Mewman, or monster?" she questioned.

The orb chuckled "Neither, I am what is known as a spirit. I am the spirit of destruction, you may call me Ragnarok." Hearing the name, Seth placed his hands on his chin "I have heard that name before, but where?"

"Let's get down to business. I hear you both want the others species destroyed? Am I correct?" the one known as Ragnarok asked. Mina and Seth glared at each other, ready to jump into contact at any moment "I take that as a yes." Ragnarok sighed "Well how about we make a deal? If you two agree to work for me, I'll separate your species permanently as payment for your service."

"What?! Why in the heck would I agree to work with a monster?!" Mina gasped.

Seth scoffed "Separating Mewman's and monsters, I would accept that if this lunatic was not involved. Give us one good reason why we should work for you?"

Ragnarok smirked in his orb "Well, with my as of now limited power. I could return the two of you to your former strength if you agree to help me out."

The promise of their old power instantly sent evil smiles to Mina and Seth's faces "Now, there's a good reward." Mina considered. Seth held out a hand "Temporary truce?" he crossed his fingers behind his back "Temporary truce." Mina did the same.

"What do you need us to do anyway?" Seth turned to the orb "Well to put it simply I'm imprisoned in a sealed dimension. I should have been released when I felt the magic disappear, but the seal remained. After that cosmic event, I managed to break open a small hole, but it still isn't enough to destroy it!"

"Some spirit of destruction you are." Seth muttered under his breath, Ragnarok send a death glare in his direction "Find out why I'm still trapped in here! I can lend you your old strength, and once I'm free, you'll get your real reward." Ragnarok promised.

Hearing his words, Mina and Seth place their hands on the orb "I accept!"

OXOXOXOX

"Thanks again for helping us Captain." Star shook the dead sailor's hand. In the end they were unable to figure out why Star was the only one with magic again, nor how the aurora's fit into the equation. But they had figured out enough to satisfy them for the time being.

"Just doing my duty. If the two of ye ever need our help, just talk to the painting." Alphonse nodded "Also can ye do me a favor? Tell Eclipsa I'm proud of her." The request caught Star off guard, but she agreed to it none the less "Uh, sure!"

Fiddling with his hoodie, Marco patted the part of his stomache with the darkness crawling on it. He had tried to bring it up, but like before something inside of him changed the subject against his will. Exhaling, his eyes wandered to the moon above, it felt awkward after what had transpired. The Blood Moon gave a few flashes, somewhat hesitantly "Sorry, I can't understand you." He shot it an apologetic look "And I'm also sorry if we got off on the wrong foot, I…don't really know what to make of this situation actually." He admitted. He couldn't make out what it flashed next, but it seemed like it was telling him it was ok, he didn't have to trust it yet.

Cutting open a portal, Star and Marco made their way back home. The two spirits stood in silence for a moment. Then the Blood Moon flashed something, causing a grim expression to grow on Alphonse's face "I know, something big is coming. Like it or not, we won't be of much help to them. We can only hope the two of them are prepared for the coming storm."


	19. When Can I See You Again

**Well I have nothing I really have to say right now. I'm not even sure people read the top of the page stuff? **

**The next few chapters are the calm before the storm.**

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Flipping to the last page in his book, Marco let out a disappointed sigh "Guess this one's a dead end too." He closed the book shut, taking a moment to glance at the title 'Everything to know about curses' and placed it in a stack next to his bed.

A week had passed since he and Star had discovered magic was back, and both swore to keep it a secret. As much as Star loved her mother, she feared what she would do if she knew magic still existed. Star had kept the heart stickers over her real hearts to avoid suspicion.

As for Marco, he dove his nose into every book about dark magic and curses he could find. Desperately seeking answers as to what the dark thing was on his body and why he was unable to say anything about it. He wish he could just write it off as a scar from his impalement, but every day it spread further on his torso, more dark veins had spread from the center as well. Dozens of trips to several libraries later and he was no closer to figuring out what it was than when he started.

"Well, at least I can rule out a reverse Naysaya curse on me." He picked up another book in discouragement "I need a break."

'Space Unicorn~Soaring through the stars~'

The unmistakable sound of his ringtone tore his attention from the book he was about to start. Picking up his cellphone, he smiled as Star's number flashed on the screen "Hey, Star."

"Marco, I've been doing some thinking…I know we're supposed to be keeping the magic a secret…but there's somewhere I've been wanting to go with the dimensional scissors." Her sheepish tone sounded through the phone.

"Well, what dimension is it?" Marco expected someplace like a tropical beach dimension, or an amusement park of doom, he did not expect where Star really wanted to go "I wanna go see Kelly."

OXOXOXOX

The quiet forest of Woolandia was still as a pair of scissors cut through the air. The portal appeared with a whoosh as the two teens stepped through "So this is where Kelly lives, it's so fuzzy!" Star happily took in the sights.

"Do you mean the world is fuzzy, or our disguises are fuzzy?" Marco wondered, gesturing to the lump of red wool covering his body, a blonde version covered Star. The disguises had more importance than it had the last time, blending in with the Wooletts was crucial as seeing people from another dimension would clue the natives in to magic's return.

"Any idea how close we are to Kelly's place?" Star asked her boyfriend as she looked around.

Taking notice of their surroundings, Marco did not recognize the colorful forest they found themselves in "I…have no clue how to get there."

Closing her eyes, Star focused on the sound of their surroundings. The clashing of metal could be heard faintly from the west of them "I hear weapons that way! Even if it's not Kelly, we can get directions from them."

"Yeah, just remember what I told you about Woolett society." Marco gave her a concerned look, Star rolled her eyes "I know, I'm probably gonna have to punch someone to ask for directions." She said too casually for his liking.

Grabbing him by the hand, Star led Marco to where she heard the sounds from.

OXOXOXOX

Mina was having second thoughts on this whole ordeal.

No it wasn't that she was worried what they were doing was morally wrong, it's that what they were doing was incredibly boring.

"Progress report Mina." Ragnarok demanded, his orb resting on a wooden desk. Mina and Seth had made a hideout in an abandoned safehouse left over from an old Earth war. A result of accepting Ragnarok's offer was a strange tattoo on both Mina and Seth's upper arms, an abstract shape resembling a horned head. The muscular body Mina once had to use magic to summon had become her default look, though her head was unchanged from her normal appearance. Other than strength, the only power Mina had was flight. Seth had changed considerably more than her, regaining his youthful appearance and ability to walk again.

"We ain't found diddly-squat!" Mina answered "We couldn't find any records on your imprisonment, nothing on escaping sealed dimensions, and someone kept checking out all the books on dark magic and curses from all the libraries!"

Ragnarok sighed "It seems those fools have erased all trace of me from records. Those dark magic books would be our best bet if you could get some."

"It won't do ya much good, ain't no way to use magic anymore." Mina bitterly remembered. Ragnarok was silent, not wanting to comment on the matter.

At that moment, Seth entered through the door, carrying a sack with him "This is all I could get. The monster archives were a bust as well." He grumpily dropped the bag, containing a mere two books on the dark arts.

"Well it's better than nothing." Mina resigned herself. She grabbed one of the books as she floated on her back "…Seth?"

"What?" he whined, sick of hearing her voice.

"This book is on glow in the dark crafts!" Mina pointed to the front cover 'Art to have fun in the dark'.

"I just typed 'Dark' and 'Arts' into that computer thing and took whatever it had!" Seth defended himself. The two began bickering, shouting at each other back and forth like squabbling kids. Ragnarok silently watched them with a look that said 'I'm surrounded by idiots'.

OXOXOXOX

Five minutes of walking through the forest later, Star and Marco finally reached the edge of the trees "Finally! I thought we'd never get out of there." Marco breathed a sigh of relief. He wished this dimension had dragoncycles, riding Nachos would have taken only a few seconds to clear the forest. Walking a few miles was the price to pay if they wanted to blend in around these parts.

Marco was ripped from his thoughts when a fuzzy creature went flying right into his face "What the heck?!" whatever it was, it clawed at Marco's face and hissed. Pulling the creature away from him, he saw it looked like a wolf and a bear had a baby, it walked on four legs but had bear like features on the face and tail.

The thing growled and charged at Marco, only for Star to give it a kick and knock it away "Thanks Star." "Don't thank me yet, there's more." She pointed to a huge group of the creatures. There had to be somewhere between thirty to fifty of the things. The group was disrupted from the center by the slashing of a sword, knocking the creatures away little by little. A mint green bush of hair held the sword as it struck with precision, turning around her glasses and purple top became visible.

"Kelly! We found her!" Star cheered, and then witnessed Kelly getting her arm bit by one of the things "Looks like we came in the nick of time." Marco rushed down to start fighting the little beasts.

"Who's Nick?" Star wondered before joining Marco's side.

Wave after wave of the critters continued to attack Kelly; even a warrior like herself would begin to wear down after fighting for this long. She wiped the sweat from her forehead in the split second she had before going on the offensive again "Hyaah!" her sword knocked another two of them down, only for three more to take their place. For a brief moment, Kelly considered getting out of here before she ran out of stamina, then she noticed more of the creatures being knocked down on the other side of the horde "Who…?"

The next thing she knew, two figures had cleared a path through the beasts and took fighting stances on both of her sides "Need a hand?" the yellow one asked. Kelly smiled "Try and keep up."

The remaining creatures ran together, combining their bodies to form a single giant version of their species. The thing lets out a thundering roar at the trio, who only looked to each other and nodded. Star ran first and rolled under the beast with a somersault, catching the thing's attention as it looked backwards at her. Kelly and Marco came up on its front while it was distracted, Marco pulling out a sword of his own from under his hairy disguise, and each slashed at the front legs. The creature howled in pain, momentarily forgetting about Star as she leapt on top of its head and delivered a solid kick right between the eyes.

The thing staggered back as Star let out a second kick as she descended towards the ground. Kelly motioned for Marco to hop on top of her sword, he complied and she launched him at the beast. Marco's blade reflected the light of the sun as he held it high above, striking the creature in the back of the neck. The thing howled as its form broke apart and reverted to a horde of smaller creatures, lying unconscious on the ground.

"Thanks for the save, you two fight pretty good." Kelly complimented the two before her.

"And you're as fierce as ever Kelly!" Star responded.

The Woolett blinked "How did you know my name?" the couple gave each other a look as they lifted up their disguises for a moment, wordlessly smiling at their old friend "Marco! Star!" Kelly's face lit up as she brought her friends into a big hug "You two have a lot of explaining to do."

OXOXOXOX

Slamming the door behind her, Mina huffed and plopped down face-first onto the plank of wood she called a bed "Well now, did you and Seth resolve things?" Ragnarok's voice called from his orb. Mina flipped on her side to face his voice "Hardly! That dingbat is going back to do some real research on what we need! At his pace, I'd say he's not coming back till dawn." Mina complained.

"And tell me, why do you not accompany him to get the work done faster?" Ragnarok wondered.

"Simple, he's a stinking monster! The only thing their good for is hunting, figured this was pretty close to that." Mina reasoned "Working with him is a nightmare! I'm not so sure simply separating my people from those things is a good enough reward to put up with this!"

"Oh, I agree. Monsters are the worst." Ragnarok agreed "Truthfully I do not like them at all."

Mina flipped over onto her stomache, swinging her legs in the air like a girl gossiping at a slumber party "Now that is good to hear Ragnarok! I don't see why you would even recruit him in the first place?"

"Oh Mina, it's simple really. I'm not going to separate your species, the truth is that I plan to betray Seth and destroy all monsters." Ragnarok evilly grinned.

"Holy cow! Are you serious!?" Mina shot up, pulling the orb to her chest "Absolutely, I would never lie to you. I plan to destroy all monsters." Ragnarok gave her the sincerest look he could muster.

"Well I'll be darn, looks like working with you was the right call." Mina smiled, poking the orb with her finger as she held it under her arm. Placing it back on its pedestal, Mina floated over to the food supply "While the monsters away, the Mina will eat its tapioca." She hungrily licked her lips. As Mina turned from his sight, Ragnarok's eyes lit up in a sinister glint.

OXOXOXOX

"That's pretty much the gist of it. Earth and Mewni fused, the two of us got together, and our scissors have a little bit of juice left in them." Star finished summarizing what Kelly had missed, purposely leaving out the return of magic to herself.

Kelly's jaw dropped in shock "Wow! That's a lot of stuff I missed!"

The three teens sat on the floor of Kelly's bedroom, a very fluffy, purple room contrasted by the collection of weaponry lining the walls. Following the battle, Star and Marco opted to fill their friend in on what had happened in the last five months. Hearing all that had happened, Kelly's joy began to diminish "Man, sounds like you guys have been having fun. It's been pretty much the standard around here. Fighting those Grizzle's was the most exciting thing I had done this week."

"Is that what those things were?" Marco asked, Kelly nodded in return "Yep, they may not look like much but Grizzle's cause at least ten deaths a year. They are very persistent when it comes to biting people's faces off." She awkwardly chuckled, hiding behind a bittersweet smile.

When Star thought about meeting up with an old friend, she imagined it would be happier than it was now. While they had started off in a good mood, as Star told her story she saw Kelly's smile fade. Turning to her side, Marco seemed to be uncomfortable as well. Star nudged him to say something, he opened his mouth but closed it soon after.

Thinking back, Star tried to figure out why they were acting strange. Marco had told her that he and Kelly were breakup buddies for a few weeks, but that they separated amicably. Maybe Marco hadn't been telling the whole truth "I just remembered, I need to use the bathroom! I will be in there for a few minutes so feel free to talk about stuff without me!" Star unconvincingly excused herself as she scurried out of the room. Star closed the door behind her but did not keep going; she stood with her ear to the door to see what would happen.

Left alone with his ex, it wasn't a surprise that Kelly was acting down around him. If he learned anything from what occurred with Jackie, it's that he had to rip the band aid off and talk it out "Kelly…is me being here making you uncomfortable?"

Kelly's eyes widened and she looked at him in shock "What! No, it's not you! I'm really happy to see both of you again." Kelly admitted.

"Oh! I thought, you seemed kind of down while Star was talking. Hearing your ex is dating your friend, it'd be reasonable if it made you sad." Marco spoke.

"Marco. Look, our break up was not ideal. You just told me you wanted to stop being breakup buddies out of the blue. But after a few days I got it, you still had feelings for Star. Hearing the two of you got together is no surprise to me really." Kelly admitted "Which by the way, did I win the Starco betting pool?" "No, Pony's dad did." "Dang it!"

Clearing her throat from her sudden outburst, Kelly continued "Honestly, I am feeling down. But it's more because all of you guys got to stay together and keep having fun with each other, while I'm stuck in my own dimension with just Jorby to talk to. He's great, but he's got his hands full lately with trying to bond with his girlfriend's children. So it's just me nowadays."

"JORBY HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!" Star blew her cover as she gasped in shock. Neither Marco nor Kelly looked surprised to hear her "You can stop hiding behind the door Star; we both know your listening." Marco spoke with a fond smile, watching Star slink back into the room "Sorry, didn't wanna make things even more awkward."

Kelly let out a laugh "Come on Star, I know it's always gonna be awkward with you two. But you guys always keep it fun. " She smiled "I'd love to go and hang out on…Earth? Mewni?"

"Earthni!" Star helpfully reminded her; Kelly raised an eyebrow at the name "Really? Well it's your dimension I guess."

Reaching into her purse, Star handed the scissors to Kelly "You wanna do the honors?" Grinning, Kelly grabbed the scissors and swiped them in the air. No portal appeared "Huh?" Kelly stared in confusion. She tried a few more times with no success, before handing them back to Star "Looks like they don't work for me." "I wonder why?" Star looked the scissors over, making a quick cut in the fabric of reality and succeeding, before closing it once more "Weird."

"How are your scissors able to do that? If magic is gone then making portals should be impossible." Kelly wondered. As the Woolett found holes in their story, Star and Marco glanced at each other nervously before Marco changed the subject "So how did it feel to get stabbed with a Solarian blade? I got stabbed by a unicorn, I wonder which hurt worst?" Star facepalmed at Marco's question.

Kelly blinked, unsure of how to respond "Well…to be honest, people in this place get stabbed every time they order a coffee. Other than almost exploding, it was pretty regular."

"Why is pain such a big part of Woolett culture?" Marco wondered to himself.

"I think the worst art of it all was that I never got to say goodbye to you two. Last I saw, I was being carted to the infirmary while you were talking with each other. After Quirky died, we all just kept panicking until a flash healed me and Jorby and brought us back here. No dimensional scissors worked so I had no way of knowing how everyone else was doing." Kelly reminisced.

"Do you wanna go and say hi?" Marco held up the scissors once more.

Kelly thought it over for a moment, before a crash outside caught her attention "Kelly! The Grizzle's are attacking people in the park! Grab a sword and come with me!" her father shouted from another room. Looking between her friends and the window to the outside, Kelly sighed "Not today, I have some unfinished business here to take care of now that this business is finished."

Star pulled Kelly into a big hug "We'll be back, no more goodbyes." Marco offered a fist bump to the green haired girl who happily returned it.

"I'm gonna keep you guys too it! See you next time." Kelly waved as Marco cut open the portal. Watching her friends leave again, Kelly no longer felt sad. Grabbing her sword, she went to face th dangers of her world with a smile on her face.


	20. When We Didn't Get Along

**This chapter went through a surprising amount of revisions. At the last possible minute I scrapped a long nearly 1,000 word scene and wrote a completely different shorter scene in it's place.**

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Babysitting was supposed to be easy. You watch a baby, feed it, and change its diaper, easy right? But if the baby can walk on the ceiling, things get out of hand quicker than you would expect.

"Meteora! You get down from there this instant!" Marco shouted to the purple haired baby that was currently crawling on the ceiling. Meteora ignored Marco and continued to crawl around the top of her room. Marco was all for his baby sister coming over for a playdate at the Monster Temple, but Eclipsa needed a new babysitter at the last minute.

"Hey Marco, I got Mariposa all chang-is Meteora still up there!?" Star came in holding his younger sister, who babbled away happily.

Marco groaned in frustration "Yes! That demon baby is taunting me! Look at that smug little grin of hers!" he was not wrong; Meteora was taking delight in tormenting Marco. Mariposa noticed her friend on the ceiling and reached at her "Ah! Ah!" she cried to her playmate. Seeing her friend on the correct side of gravity, Meteora giggled and jumped down from the ceiling, Marco quickly grabbing her as she fell.

The teens set the babies down on the floor as they crawled to each other and spoke in their baby talk, leaving the older kids to take a moments rest "These girls sure are a handful." Star sighed, Marco glared at the half monster child "You mean Meteora is a handful! Mari's a perfect angel!"

"Just today, Meteora bit my arm, threw a plastic horse at my head, crawled all over the ceiling, and let's not forget what happened to her old babysitter." Marco recalled, a voice down the hall screamed "My Leg!" to further his point.

"Well…at least she's not sucking souls anymore." Star shrugged awkwardly "Now she's sucking on pacifiers!"

Looking at Meteora, the object in her mouth was not a pacifier "That's your phone isn't it?" "Yes, yes it is."

OXOXOXOX

"Ah, the monster archives, still as wonderful as I remember!"

"If by wonderful you mean disgusting, rat infested, tome of lies? Then yes, I agree."

Seth and Mina stepped foot into a dusty old room. From the look of the cobwebs, the place had been abandoned for probably a century. The place looked like an old study, with books lining the walls and a single chair and table were placed in the center.

"Now this is someplace no Mewman had ever even heard of." Seth gloated, not seeing Mina roll her eyes "For generations, all of monster kind's knowledge has been safely stored inside of here! Some of these even go as far back as the days of the first of those horrid Butterfly's!

"If you had said that in front of me a few months ago, I woulda decked ya on the spot! Now, I'm not too fond of those Butterfly's either." Mina grabbed a random book front the shelf, causing a big cloud of dust to erupt from its spot. Coughing as she read, Mina flipped through the book in her hands "If this place is (cough) so important to you (cough) mongrels, why didn't (cough) you think of this place earli(cough)er?"

"This is a secret archive; it is against my better judgement to even consider bringing a freak like you in here!" Seth retorted, then under his breath added "Plus I couldn't remember where I hid this darn place."

For a few minutes, the two searched in silence. Flipping through the decaying books one by one, going through a dozen of them without any clues.

Going through his twenty eighth book, a word caught Seth's eye as he turned the page "A-ha! It's something about Ragnarok!" Mina shoved him as she wrestled the book from his hands "This ain't about Ranarok! It's just a bunch of scribbles! Doesn't surprise me though."

Snatching the old book from his associate's grasp, Seth pointed to the so called scribbles "This is an ancient language! I know enough to read the name Ragnarok on top!"

"Well that's all fine and dandy, but what about the rest of it?" Mina questioned.

"I can't read the whole thing! But I bet Ragnarok could!" the lizard responded, placing the book under his arm as the two of them left the archives.

OXOXOXOX

"Peeka…boo!"

Star revealed her face from under her hands, causing both babies to giggle at the gesture "Peeka…boo!" once again, they laughted. This time Marco hid his face "Peeka…boo!" Mariposa laughed, Meteora stuck out her tongue.

"Oh come on! What's it gonna take to get Meteora to laugh at me when I'm not in pain?!" Marco fell backwards onto a mountain of plush dolls, Mariposa crawled over and gave him a pat on the cheek "Thanks sis."

Placing Meteora in her lap, Star looked down at the infant with a gentle smile "Give her time; she's bound to like you eventually."

"Doubt it." Marco lifted his sister in the air, she giggled as he did so "Who needs her anyway! I got you my little butterfly!" he brought Mariposa into a hug.

"Little? I'm only a few inches shorter than you!" Star raised an eyebrow. Realizing what he said, Marco sat up and cleared his throat "No not you Star, I mean yes I have you, but I was talking about Mariposa."

"Well then why did you call her a little butterfly?"

"Well…Mariposa is Spanish…for butterfly…" Marco blushed and avoided eye contact.

Hearing this, Star held her hands to her heart and gasped "Marco! Did your parents name her after me?" Tilting his head slightly in her direction, Marco met her eyes "Actually, I suggested it…" he felt his whole face flush red.

"Oh, Marco!" Star leaped and pulled her arms around his neck "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" "Naming your sibling after your best friend/girlfriend is a little weird, don't you think?" he turned to the baby in his lap, tightly holding on to his finger.

"It's not weird, it's really sweet!" Star pecked him on the cheek "Star! Not in front of the babies…wait, wasn't Meteora in your lap a second ago?" Marco realized with dread that they were one baby short. Giggling from above alerted Marco to what was going to follow. Meteora pounced from the ceiling as Marco pushed his sister into Star's arms, saving her from Meteora's dive bomb attack as she nailed Marco hard on the back.

"Meteora! You do not use Marco for target practice!" Star scolded the baby. Marco flipped over as Meteora continued to slap his stomache with her tiny hands "You are hitting me a lot more than you normally do." Marco wondered if he had done something different to upset her this time. He let her play with his sister, he fed her the baby food she liked, and still she attacked him.

"Yeah, she usually just lands on you and laughs. I don't think she's ever slapped you like that before." Star agreed. Mariposa crawled up to her best friend and babbled in baby talk, trying to understand why she was hurting her brother. Meteora poked his chest and said "BA!" angrily. While Star and Mariposa had no idea what she meant, Marco started to get an idea.

"Maybe she feels-hungry, let's get her some food!" his mouth spoke for him, changing his intended sentence.

"Hmm, maybe? Would you mind going to grab some baby food from the kitchen?" Star asked her boyfriend, who in return nodded and left the room.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Marco thought to himself as he made his way toward the kitchen "Meteora had some strong ties to dark magic. She probably feels the black veins on me." The boy solemnly remembered the growing darkness on him. Not being able to discuss it with anyone was maddening to him, the dark veins had already covered his entire torso, he couldn't even imagine what would happen if it infected all of himself.

"You will find out soon enough."

Marco froze, frantically looking around for the source of the voice he had heard. The corridor was empty save for himself and some pottery lining the walls "Great, now I'm hearing voices!" Marco pushed his face into his hands. He took a deep breath and kept walking forward, the kitchen close in sight "Keep it together Diaz! Everything will be alright. You'll find some way out of this weird mess."

Entering the kitchen, the boy went to a cabinet and grabbed a jar of mushed corn "Whatever is happening, it's found a way to torture me even worse than the baby can."

OXOXOXOX

"You were right to bring me this book, this is exactly what I was looking for." From inside his glass orb, Ragnarok's eyes scanned the passage of the book in front of him. Seth and Mina stood beside each other uncomfortably "Yeah, that's what I told this ugly lizard. This is the right book to help us on this mission. It was all my idea!" Mina bragged. Seth gaped at her "You no good lying mewman! I found the book, I translated his name, and I should get the credit!"

"Stop bickering like children, no one gets extra credit for this!" Ragnarok shouted "If the two of you are finished, I can read what this says."

His minions sat down and listened as the book's contents were read aloud "Let's see, skipping past my origin, not that interesting, what I've done, that's on a need to know basis…Here! After being imprisoned by…the names aren't important…a magic lock was placed on my dimensional prison. In the event of magic disappearing, a safeguard has been put in place! The (mumbles names) created five seals that were scattered to different mystical grounds, when the seals are brought together, the path to where Ragnarok (that's me) lays will be opened…" he neglected to finish the rest of the chapter, but Mina and Seth seemed to not notice.

"Great! We find one answer, and now we gotta go find five more things!" Mina slouched in her chair. Seth growled at her "Maybe you could get up and do something useful for a change, like go grab some food for dinner."

Huffing, Mina floated up and got in Seth's face "Well maybe I will Lizard breath, maybe I will!" and with that, Mina stormed out.

Seth ran his claws through his hair "That woman is the worst! We don't even need her!"

Rolling his eyes, Ragnarok spoke back "It's better to have two minions working instead of one, I need some Mewman strength and Monster finesse if I ever want to get out of here."

"Whatever, I just can't wait to see the look on her face when she finds out we've betrayed her." Seth tried to imagine the purple haired weirdo crying in agony; it brought a smile to his face.

Ragnarok chuckled "Yes, well I truly despise Mewman's, monsters are far superior."

Seth walked over to a makeshift hammock, closing his eyes as he spoke "You better make good on your promise." "Certainly Seth, I would never lie. I plan to destroy all Mewmans once I am free. That I can assure you." The eyes in the orb flashed with evil sincerity. The septarian found himself falling off to sleep, as Ragnarok turned back to the book "Pity you two can't read this, but it would spoil my fun if I were to tell you everything."

OXOXOXOX

Being left to look after the babies on her own for a minute, Star decided to teach the girls a game she played when she was their age "It's called gladiators! You use the wooden sword and slash it at the pillow the other is holding. First one to rip the others pillow wins!" she double checked to see if both kids were holding their wooden swords and pillow shields correctly. The babies could barely sit up, but waved their swords in excitement nonetheless.

"Ready…begin!" Star dropped a makeshift flag to start the match. Mariposa and Meteora wiggled to each other, doing their best to move while holding their gear. Star watched happily, as the babies slowly engaged their opponent for battle. Meteora reached her friend first and sloppily waved the sword against Mariposa's pillow, letting out a tiny war cry as she did.

Mariposa bid her time, watching as the hybrid baby wildly swung at the pillow, despite her best efforts the pillow held up against her assault. Meteora's tiny arms got tired after a minute, giving Mariposa an opportunity to strike back "AAAAH!" the tiny Diaz screamed. Mariposa took her own wooden sword and struck it against Meteora's pillow…not making a dent either.

The battle raged on for many minutes, each baby not daring to back down from the glorious fight. Star was fully engaged in watching them, her own memories of playing the game gave her a sense of nostalgia "I play winner!"

The door began to open, as Marco returned with the bottles of baby formula "Who wants pureed corn milk?!"

The sight of the war before him nearly caused the food to drop from his hands "Mariposa?! Star what are they doing!?"

Star just shrugged "It's a game I played with my babysitters when I was little. I won every time." She sounded proud of herself. Marco did not look so proud "You and Meteora are Mewman! You have a much stronger pain endurance than a human baby like Mariposa!" Marco voice raised an octave "Meteora could poke her eye out! She could get a splinter! She could be forever scarred for the rest of her days!"

As her elder brother came up with the worst case scenarios, Mariposa placed her pillow against her chest as she charged (crawled) toward Meteora. The other baby had worn herself out and accepted her fate, only able to watch as Mariposa slashed her sword on the pillow and tore the tiniest tear possible.

"Marco, look look! She won! Mari won!" Star pointed at the babies as she jumped up and down. Marco's jaw dropped as he set the food down "She beat Meteora…SHE BEAT METEORA!" he cheered, tears of joy falling from his eyes "IN YOUR FACE YOU EVIL DEMON BABY!" Meteora stuck her tongue out defiantly toward her babysitter.

Mariposa crawled to her brother, letting him scoop her up into his arms "Aw sis, I'm so proud of you! You won your first fight! That is not usually something you say to a baby, but I'm just so proud of you!"

"Maako."

The teens froze, both turning their gaze slowly toward Mariposa "Mari…did you…"

The baby beamed happily "Maako!"

Marco thought he couldn't be prouder, but his sister proved him wrong "You said your first word! I'm your first word! Oh this is incredible!" Marco hugged his sister tightly, Mariposa hugged him back. Star smiled and picked up Meteora and a formula bottle "Come on, let's give them a moment." She told the baby as they stepped to the other side of the room.

Things were going to happen, things were going to go wrong, but for a moment, everything felt right.


	21. As Long As You Love Me

**A Valentine's Day chapter so close to Halloween, not too different from Christmas in July.**

**Honestly, I am ashamed how proud I am of some of my dumb punny names. I think my dumbest jokes are my most favorite ones to write.**

**The outfits in this chapter were drawn by Hug-Bees on twitter, they were so cute that it felt like a crime not to have them wear it at least once.**

* * *

"No! You can't stop me!"

"We're only trying to help!"

"Go ahead and try! I won't let anyone get in my way."

"You have no idea what will happen to you!"

"I know, and I fully accept my fate!"

"Star…that really is way too much sugar on your burrito…"

The quartet of teens sat around at a table for lunch at Britta's Taco's. Currently, Star was cradling a huge cylinder of sugar in her arms as she warded off her concerned friends "Not you too Janna!" Star gasped in betrayal. The blue haired teen shrugged "Star, I am all for anarchy, but even I have to admit you put way too much sugar on your food."

Glaring at her friends, Star reluctantly handed the sugar container to Marco "Party poopers." Star muttered under her breath. Marco sighed and put the sugar where Star couldn't see it "It's for your own good Star."

"And that concludes this intervention." Tom smiled "Now let's get some dessert!" Marco glared daggers at his friend "Oh come on dude, you know I was kidding."

The loud screeching of car horns and people shouting began to fill the air; all the teens shook their heads as they figured what was causing all that ruckus "Pony Head." They all sighed.

On cue, the disembodied horse head flew over the group with a dramatic twirl "Yo what up my peeps!...and Marco."

Ignoring her comment, Star raised an eyebrow at her "Where were you? You were supposed to meet us here for lunch an hour ago!"

"Ok so funny story, I was at the mall, doing a meet and greet for my fans, who by the way must not have known where I was because no one was there to see me, when I see all these heart decorations everywhere and there was some cute pink skinny jeans with a heart on the back pocket and I was all like 'Pony, you gotta treat yo' self!'" Pony Head rambled, everyone but Star paid more attention to sipping their soda's than listening to her.

"You spent an hour…buying pants?" Star clarified, her friend nodded "Heck yeah girl! But like, everything was so full of love and junk, I mean what's up with that?"

Removing the straw from her mouth, Janna returned her attention back to the table "It's almost Valentine's day. A corporate made day to sell cards and chocolates to people in love. Couples go on dates, wear matching outfits, and get all cuddly, it's disgusting."

Marco was barely paying attention, he finished up the last bite of his burrito before speaking "Yeah, I've never celebrated it that much since I've never had a girlfriend on-" his eyes shot open, Marco jumped up in shock "Oh my god, I have a girlfriend on Valentine's Day!" he gasped.

Star's eyes lit up as she jumped up next to Marco and held his hand excitedly "Our first Valentine's Day! This is going to be so awesome!" her enthusiasm made Marco grin "Yeah, but it totally slipped my mind. I didn't plan anything for you yet." he admitted.

Star patted his shoulder "Just leave it to me!"

OXOXOXOX

Time flew by and Valentine's Day had already arrived. Marco sat on a bench in the park, fiddling with something in his pocket as he awaited his girlfriend's arrival. Per Star's request, the two of them had coordinated outfits together. A red hoodie was wrapped around the boy like it always was, but a pale red heart was patched on the left side of his chest. Under the hoodie was a light brown dress shirt with tan colored polka dots, the hoodie was zipped down lower than usual to show off more of the shirt. His black pants reached to his ankles, and his regular shoes were replaced by a pair of slip-on shoes of the same color.

"Marco!" he heard her voice call out. Standing up, Marco saw her running towards him from a nearby hill. He went in her direction, now noticing her speed increasing as she ran down the hill "Star?" he felt like he should brace himself. Sure enough, once she was close enough, the mewman leapt towards him and tackled the boy into a spinning hug. Luckily for both of them, Marco kept his balance and they avoided crashing into the dirt.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Star announced joyfully, holding her boyfriend as tight as she could. Aside from her usual headband, Star's outfit was designed to complement Marco's. She wore a dark blue overall dress with a big pale blue star in the bottom right of the skirt. Her undershirt had a red collar and red cuffs at the end of the short, puffy sleeves. The top itself was white with yellow and olive polka dots. On her legs were knee length red leggings and dark blue mary jane shoes.

"Janna was totally wrong, matching outfits look great on us!" Marco spoke smugly; Star giggled "Well you look cute in anything." She booped his nose, then grabbed his hand as she walked them in another direction "Come on! The place is this way!"

When Marco had asked where they would have their date, Star wouldn't tell him as to keep it a surprise. All he knew is that it was somewhere she hadn't taken him before. The unmistakable scent of Mewni corn filled the air as Marco heard laughter and merriment ahead of them.

"I give you…the Cornival!" Star announced "It is exactly what it sounds like!"

Before the two of them was a large carnival, but as the name implied, everything was themed around corn. At the sight before him, Marco couldn't help but chuckle "Honestly, a Cornival doesn't surprise me in the least." He laced his fingers between Star's as he readjusted his arm, letting it swing to his side as they walked in together.

Every game, every food stall, every ride, it was all based on or made out of corn "I know it isn't a normal place for a romantic holiday, but it sounds really fun." Star spoke as they took in their surroundings, searching for what they should do first. Her eyes scanned the area before stopping as she looked up "Marco, look!" she pulled his face towards her line of sight.

Close by was a giant rollercoaster, dubbed the 'Mattercorn', the structure was made of wood and all the cars were shaped like corn. Marco stared unsure as he watched a group go down a huge slope, feeling a little sick to his stomache. He almost said something, but he saw the twinkle of adventure in his girlfriend's eyes, and knew he had to swallow his fear and accept his fate "Sure, let's go on that one."

OXOXOXOX

The couple had been strapped in their seats as they sat on a Mattercorn cart, Star was almost bouncing with excitement while Marco was trying his best to smile "Oh, this is gonna be great!" Star cheered.

With a sudden jolt, the cart began to move upward onto the first hill. Marco didn't dare look down, opting instead to stare at the handlebars as his hands gripped them fiercely. One hand was pried off by the blonde beside him, taking it into her own as she met his eyes "Hey, I got you Marco." Star said reassuringly. Just that one sentence and Marco felt his nerves dissipating.

Reaching the topmost point of the ride, the coaster slowly came to a stop, before plunging full speed down the hill. Marco found himself screaming in joy as he felt his stomach drop, feeling the wind whip across his face as Star's joyful laughter blended with his own. The whole experience went by in an instant, and before they knew it, the duo was walking off the ride and laughing together "Aw man, that was great! I can't believe I've never rode a rollercoaster before." Marco smiled.

Star looked surprised "Really? You drive a dragoncycle but never rode a coaster?" Marco shrugged "Hey, you never know when the last time a safety inspector looked over one."

The two kept on walking until they ended up in the cornival game section, several prizes cluttered the tops of the booths as barely anyone had won a game "Ugh, carnival games are always rigged." Marco sounded disgusted, Star shared his look "Yeah, I learned that the hard way. No dumb prize is ever going to get me to play-what is that?"

Star stared at a plush doll nearby, a purple duck or panda creature hung above a shooting gallery, The targets were painted on to giant corn cutouts. Marco noticed how Star looked at the doll, and walked up to the stand "I'll take three rounds!" he told the guy behind the counter. The man handed Marco a nyarf dart gun and moved aside as the targets behind him started moving.

Marco took the first shot and just narrowly missed the target as it changed directions at the last possible second. He grunted and shot again, the same thing happened "Oh come on!" he steadied his last shot. Marco aimed his nyarf gun right where the target was heading, shooting it off and having it hit the target but refuse to stick "Aw man." Marco groaned. Beside him, Star had a nyarf gun of her own; she glared at the game seriously "I shall avenge you Marco." She took aim and fired all of her darts in quick succession. The target dodged the first two but the third and final dart nailed it dead center, putting a small crack in the wood at the force of the impact.

"I believe the purple panda-duck thing is mine!" Star held her hand out expectantly at the man "Oh, you want that prize? You have to get 50 hits on the target." The guy explained.

The couple glared at the guy, both dropping their nyarf guns to the ground "Rip off artist!" Star shouted as they walked away.

OXOXOXOX

After their failure to win the toy, the couple went and got some snacks "Corn dogs, popcorn and candy corn. Wow, what a variety." Marco snarked as the two sat at a table, both held corn dogs and Star also had a giant cornshake in her arms "I can't believe they had cornshakes this big! It's big enough for two people to share it." She placed the drink between them, pulling out two straws and placing them in the cup "In fact, two people are sharing it."

Marco gave her a soft smile as they each took a straw, both taking a sip of the shake in unison "Ugh! Star, what flavor is this?" Marco recoiled from the shake, Star doing the same as she wiped her tongue "I got the most romantic flavors I could think of, chocolate, rose petals, and cheesecake…only they didn't have cheesecake so I got normal cheese instea-oh, now I see what went wrong."

Marco took the terrible cornshake and put it in the trash, buying a regular soda instead. He brought it back to the table and put two straws in it "Not as romantic as a cornshake, but it tastes better." Marco grinned. Star grinned back and both took to happily sipping on the soda together.

OXOXOXOX

"The tunnel of corn? It's supposed to be the tunnel of love." Marco pointed out as Star dragged him onto the next ride "What else would you expect? Mewman's love corn, so it is technically a tunnel of love." Star explained.

The line to get on was empty, letting the two get on without a wait. The boat was surprisingly normal, just painted white with hearts on it. Marco stepped in first and held Star's hand as she sat beside him. The boat went forward and neither knew what to expect. The ride's interior started out really dark, barely enough light to see your hand in front of your face, before a soft yellow glow filled the room to reveal all of its corn themed beauty.

"Wow." Was all that came out of Star's mouth. The ride was exactly like a regular tunnel of love, but anything that was supposed to be romantic was corn. The cupid statues were corn, the roses were made out of corn kernels, everything was real, genuine corn.

"Man, I didn't know the tunnel of love would be this corny." Marco joked. His pun got a good laugh from Star "I corn't say I wasn't expecting this!" she joked back. Their laughter echoed through the ride, two sweet voices harmonizing together.

As the laughs died down, Marco began to look at Star with lovestruck eyes "What, do I have corn in my hair?" Star asked. Marco shook his head "No, your hair is fine. I was just thinking about how much I like your laugh."

Despite the dim lighting, Marco could clearly see a blush form on her face "Well your laugh is pretty cute too mister Diaz." She poked his chest, leaning onto his shoulder. All was still for a moment, just the two of them lovingly starring into each other's eyes. Both of them began to lean in for a kiss…

CRACK

A noise beside them made the couple jump. They turned their attention to the ride decorations and found than more than half of the corn was missing. Their boat slowly inched forward as they approached what should have been a giant corn made out of smaller corns, but instead found the former king of Mewni laying on the platform with an overstuffed belly.

"Dad?!" Star gasped, the sound getting her father's attention "Star, Marco! Fancy seeing you here at the corn buffet!"

"Uh, this is a ride River, not a buffet." Marco pointed out.

River's eyes widened as he took a closer look at his surroundings "Oh no, not again!"

OXOXOXOX

As the two exited the ride, they walked off in the opposite direction from River who was being chased by the Corn Cops. Star linked her arm under Marco's as they strolled through the fair together, the sun beginning to set on the horizon "Anything else you wanna do while we're here?" Marco peered down at his girlfriend.

Star looked around, from the corn dunk, to the corn maze, until finally setting her eyes on something "We could go in the photo booth?"

"Star, don't even joke about that." He sounded more amused than annoyed. Star put on her thinking face as she continued to scan the cornival "How about…oh! We haven't rode the ferris wheel!" she pointed to the towering wheel with corn shaped gondolas.

Marco beamed "That sounds great!" he led the two of them to the ride entrance. It was a few minute wait, but the time passed quickly as they busied themselves with coming up with as many bad corn puns as they could think of. Once they reached the front, they stepped in to a small gondola just for them, despite being corn shaped, the gondola looked normal otherwise. It was small enough to comfortably fit two people, the glass windows went from the bottom of the seat to nearly the top of the roof, letting the two bask in the view of the whole area.

Star gazed out the window as twilight enveloped the park below "I love this time of day; everything looks so pretty when the sun goes down."

For a moment Marco took in the view, but then turned his head to gaze at the girl in front of him "You should see how pretty the light makes you look." He took her hand in his, her eyes shined with admiration as they met his "Marco, what did I ever do to deserve a guy as sweet and amazing as you?"

"That's an easy answer Star." Marco's voice was smooth and gentle, like silk to Star's ears "You changed my world. Before you, I never would have had the courage to fight bad guys or even talk to my former crush. But you…you took me out of my shell and showed me things I would never have even dreamed of. You liked me, for me…"

Digging into his pocket, Marco temporarily let go of her hand as he pulled out a tiny box and presented it to her "Marco, you didn't have to get me anything!" she felt a twang of guilt, she had considered getting a gift for him as well, but she hadn't been able to come up with anything that felt right to give him.

"I know, but I wanted to." He replied. Passing the box into his girlfriend's hand, Marco watched silently as she carefully lifted the lid "Marco…" she gasped. Inside was a beautiful necklace, a golden star in the center with orchid and magenta colored butterfly wings coming from behind, a star shaped butterfly "It's-it's beautiful…" her eyes teared up.

"Turn it around; I had an inscription put on the back." Marco mentioned. Star did as he said, finding the writing delicately written on the golden surface of the star, she read the words aloud "For now and all of eternity, the two of us are meant to be. My one and only love Star Butterfly, you hold the heart of Marco Diaz now and forevermore." Star felt the teardrops escape her eyelids; she held the necklace against her heart as Marco spoke once more "No matter what happens, I will always love you more than anything. This necklace is my promise of that."

Fastening the jewelry around her neck, Star took his hands in hers and gazed deeply into his chocolate colored eyes "You took the words right out of my mouth Marco Diaz. I love you way too much!"

Twilight hit its peak as the young lovers locked lips. The orange rays of sunlight glowed on their forms as they held each other tightly, not caring that the ride was about to end. They reluctantly parted as the door opened beside them, not letting go of their hands as they left the gondola and made their way to the exit "The nights still young, how about we get some grub at that Chinese place downtown?" Marco suggested. A grumble from his companion's stomach was all he needed to hear "That sounds great." Star smiled.

The two of them could definitely say that Valentine's Day was one of their favorite holidays now.


	22. Freaking Out

**Sorry for the wait! Halloween had me really busy, and this chapter took a while to get out.**

**Welcome back to this fanfiction, where nothing bad ever happens to the main characters!**

**In response to a review by Sugar: Tom and Janna did indeed hang out on Valentines Day, but all they did was throw rocks at passing trains and that would be a very short chapter.**

* * *

Not everywhere in Earthni had been discovered yet, far out in the wilderness, where all was devoid of life, stood an old castle that had been long since abandoned. Compared to the castle that stood over Mewni, this one was much smaller and way more modest. It stood alone in a barren wasteland, untouched by nature and still holding strong against the test of time.

The doors creaked loudly as they were opened for the first time in hundreds of years. The Septarian known as Seth effortlessly pushed the ancient doors open, being greeted by complete and utter silence as he and the hulking Mewman known as Mina made their way into the timeless structure.

"So, this is it?" Seth took out the orb connecting them to the spirit Ragnarok. His eyes scanned the building, surprised to see not a single speck of dust anywhere "Without a doubt, this is the place."

Mina turned out the door and carried in a few bags of supplies "Our new headquarters! Our HQ!" she floated around "This sure beats where we've been hiding for nearly a month." She plopped the bags on the ground, reaching inside of one and pulling out a doughnut to nibble on.

Seth set his boss down as he took in the main room; most of the furniture had been long since removed, save for a few candlesticks and wooden chairs. The whole structure was composed of stone, the rocks taking on a greenish hue. A staircase to the next level was in the back of the room, he imagined the two of them would get rooms upstairs. Giant stained glass windows stood tall on the back wall, their colors had not faded and if any sunlight were to shine through, they would light up the empty room. Most curious of all was the floor, where thrones would have resided, instead was a large circle on the ground. A smaller ring with faded symbols circled the edges, and inside was some carvings that resembled a claw that looked as if it were encircling a small sphere in the center.

"The first seal…" Seth realized "Guys, I found the sea-Mina!? Is that a doughnut?!" he gaped at the mewman. Upon hearing his voice, Mina shoved the rest of the sweet down her throat "It ain't anymore!" she spoke in a 'sing-song' tone "Where did you even get a doughnut?!"

"Children, children, cease this useless argument!" Ragnarok called to his minions, sounding like a tired father watching two kids fight "You can have your pointless squabbles later, but now I need you two to release that seal!"

Giving each other one last glare, Mina and Seth grabbed their leaders orb and approached the decorated floor. Looking up for the first time, Mina took notice of what was portrayed in the stained glass above them "Holy corn buckets! It's the ol' magic high commission!"

Taking a closer look at the window, Seth could see that it was indeed a mural portraying the likeness of the original five members of the commission, with their creator Glossaryck at the top "It is them! Ragnarok, what is this place?!" Seth snatched the orb from Mina's grasp and shook it as he spoke.

Ragnarok sighed "Well I might as well tell you, this place used to be a chapel belonging to Chancellor Lekmet of the Magic High Commission. When I learned of the seals, this is the one place that came to mind on where to start our search, and it indeed was." Both of his underlings eyed him suspiciously, Mina started putting the pieces together "So if this place belonged to goat man and the first of the seals is here…"

"That cursed high commission and their queen at the time were the ones who locked me away." Ragnarok confirmed, his voice sounding lower and filled with hatred.

Mina and Seth silently gasped, despite the fact they had been talking to their leader for almost an entire month, neither had put much thought as to who put Ragnarok away and why they did so "I understand that this is a bit of a shock to the two of you, but be honest, that commission and the Butterfly family had a hand in doing a lot of stuff that got covered up over the ages." Ragnarok spoke.

Seth raised an eyebrow "Why were you imprisoned in the first place?"

"They did not agree with me, when they confront beings that do not think the same way as them, they silence them so their influence can no longer spread." Ragnarok chose his words carefully. Seth looked away, remembering how he was trapped in crystal by those same people "Yeah that sounds like the late commission alright."

Mina was strangely silent, intently listening as Ragnarok turned his attention to her "I believe this is why my essence was attracted to the two of you, like Seth I was locked away for having a different world view than the commission. Mina, like you I was wronged by a Butterfly Queen, one who refused to hear me out and cast aside when I tried to change the world for the better." The words resonated with the purple haired Mewman, who scoffed in response "You are correct o mundo my good sphere, those Butterfly's are the worst."

For the next few moments, the trio seethed in silent resentment. Just standing there, frowning..."…So, should we get the seal or…" Seth awkwardly suggested. Mina and Ragnarok murmured in agreement.

Seth took a few steps until he was right in front of the circle on the floor "Step aside meatball head, it's time to show you how a real man gets things done." He dug his claws into a small crack on the edge, tying with every last bit of strength he could muster. Minutes had passed and the circle had yet to even nudge "Too bad we don't have a real man in here." Mina quipped.

Suppressing a growl, Seth ceased trying to lift the circle and turned to Mina "I'd like to see you try and lift this thing!" Mina cracked her knuckles in response "With pleasure." She held her hands in the same spot as he did and tried to lift the circle.

"How long do you think she's going to try and lift it for?" Ragnarok wondered, Seth shrugged "I'd give say a couple of minutes."

OXOXOXOX

The Monster Market was buzzing with activity, the place crowded with monsters, mewmans and humans alike. In the midst of it all was Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz, standing at a stall as Star intently stared at the produce.

"Hmmmm…"

"Star, all of these apples look the same. Just pick one, any one!" Marco pleaded.

Picking up a bright green apple, Star brought it close to her face and gave it a sniff "I think…this one is perfect!" she decided. She gave some gold to the monster running the fruit stand and started walking off with her boyfriend, a bag of groceries in his hands "Did you have to inspect every apple? They all looked perfect!" Marco questioned.

Star placed the newly acquired apple into the bag with the rest of their ingredients "Oh sweet little naïve Marco, for this recipe only the best of the fruit can be included. Once you take a whiff, then you will know which should be chosen. So they say." Marco stared at her confused "Who is they?" "The fruit experts, silly."

Giving up on her logic, Marco went through the contents of the bag "I think we have just about everything for your rainbow flavored pie. We got apple for green, cherries for red, an orange for…well you know. Banana's, blueberries and boysenberries…wait…what are we using for indigo?"

A knowing grin lit up Star's face "That my beautiful Marco would be the elusive, midnight berry."

Marco tilted his head to the side "Midnight Berry?" this signaled Star to continue "A rare Mewman fruit that only grows once a year. They don't sell it in stores, so we gotta roll up our sleeves and find some the old fashioned way!"

The mention of rolling up sleeves sent a shiver down Marco's spine, a foreboding feeling welled up in his chest 'It's almost time' a voice echoed from the back of his head. Noticing the boy's strange expression, Star looked at him in concern "Marco, is something wrong?"

In his head, Marco spilled his secret out to her, but his mouth made its own words "I need to-take a shower before tonight! You go and get those berries and I'll head back home to freshen up!"

Star did not seem completely convinced "Well…alright. Let's meet up at my parent's yurt by four this evening, kay?" Star slowly left in a different direction, leaving Marco to walk towards his house with the bag of fruit.

The walk home passed by with uncomfortable silence, nothing but the sound of Marco's footsteps hitting the pavement and the jiggling of fruit until he got to his house. Quickly throwing the fruit in the fridge, Marco walked up into the bathroom, locking the door behind him as he made his way to the mirror. He pulled the red hoodie over his head and stared solemnly at the growing darkness on his skin. His entire torso had become pitch black, the veins had made their way outwards and had already stretched across his arms and legs, more veins were beginning to climb up his neck.

"What is this." Hopelessness weighed down his voice "Why does it keep growing, why can't I say anything, what's happening to me!" he slammed his fist on the counter in frustration 'Time's almost up Marco' the voice intruded his thoughts once more, taunting him with what seemed inevitable.

The boy sank to his knees and crumbled up against the wall, running his fingers through his hair as he racked his brain for something he had yet to think of "No books have any answers to my condition, the internet is useless, I can't call for help. How am I supposed to figure out what this thing infecting my body is?!"

"Wait…infecting…" an idea formed in his head "A strange voice, changes to my body, being silenced against my will…it's gotta be Monster Arm!" he hypothesized "Yeah, yeah that makes total sense! It's gotta be him! A-a-and I know how to get rid of it! I just gotta get Star to somehow do the spell she used last time!" he desperately tried to convince himself.

The boy laughed nervously to himself as he put his hoodie back on "I figured it out! I just need that spell and this will all be over!" he had to be right, he just had to be. If he isn't….

OXOXOXOX

Back in the old castle, Mina Loveberry is still trying to lift the circle on the floor.

In a different corner of the room, Seth and Ragnarok sat down at a table with the book recovered from the archive "Mina please, it's been seven hours! It won't move!" Seth sounded completely fed up with the buff lady.

Ignoring the lizard, Mina just kept trying to lift it. Seth slapped him claw to his forehead as he slumped in his seat "Please tell me you've found how to open that darn thing!" he pleaded to the orb "As a matter of fact, I have!" that was enough to get Mina away from the floor and over to where her coworkers sat "Well don't keep us waiting, spill the beans already!"

"According to one of the passages in this book, the seals are a last resort safe guard if the magic lock on my dimension is removed. The seals are kept safe in five separate rooms each chosen by a member of the commission, under an engraved circle on the floor. To open release the seal, one must use magic to undo the locking mechanism inside the floor."

His minion's jaws dropped "Magic! The safefail keeping you locked up if there's no magic, can only be broken using magic?!" Mina shouted in outrage "How does that even work!?"

"It's a failsafe for a reason, not sure what we can do about it now." Seth resigned himself, before noticing the look in Ragnarok's eyes "Do you have a plan?"

Unseen from the orb, Ragnarok smiled sinisterly "I have one more ace up my sleeve. But I need you two to go and pick it up for me."

OXOXOXOX

By now, dusk had begun to settle on Earthni as the sun sank below the horizon. Marco hurried over to the yurt belonging to Star's parents, panting as he entered the abode "Sorry for being late! I had some…issues…" he trailed off as he caught sight of Star and the messy state she was in. Twigs were woven into her hair and mud was clinging to her boots, she looked as if she had been in an epic battle against the wilderness itself.

"Marco! Right on time!" she paid no mind to her boyfriends bewildered stare "I got the midnight berries!" she proudly pushed a bowl of glittering indigo colored berries into his arms "These look great Star! If I'd have gone with you maybe you wouldn't have gotten so roughed up." Marco apologized.

"Getting covered in dirt is part of the experience Marco. If you want the berries, you gotta wrestle the tree for them." Star stated as went to get herself fixed up, leaving Marco with no further answers about wrestling the tree.

Taking a seat by the oven, Marco stared down at his hand. He knew that even if he was correct about the cause of the darkness on him, it would just silence him like it did before "How am I going to tell her to use the spell?" physical gestures and charades were out, not only was the thing keeping him from lifting his hoodie to show his problem, but Star was terrible at charades.

A crash in the other room stirred him from his thoughts; he left the kitchen to see Moon and River Butterfly sitting at their dinner table…with River's eagle friend "See, this is why eagles are not allowed in the yurt River." Moon scolded her husband, who in turn sat beside the eagle "Queen Elizabeak the Third can't help it that her wings are so big! She just wants to stretch her wings so they don't get cramped!" River defended his friend.

"That was the fourth vase she's knocked over since you brought her inside!"

"Elizabeak the third wants to try Star's rainbow pie!"

Marco cleared his throat and alerted the former monarchs to his presence "Uh, hi guys." He awkwardly waved. Moon and River slowly turned their eyes to him "Marco! It is so good to see you my boy!" River went and embraced the teen, leaving Moon steaming behind him "We are not through with this conversation, River."

Within minutes, Star returned to the room with a giant covered platter in hand "I hope you guys are hungry, because I cooked us a very tasty dinner!"

Moon did a double take when she heard her daughter "You made it on your own?" there was some fear in her voice. Star didn't seem to notice "Eeyup! Marco's been teaching me how to cook stuff without it ending up burning a hole through the plate." Marco nodded in return, under his guidance Star had gotten to the point where she could make toast safely.

The blonde placed the tray on the table and lifted the lid "I present, Star a la mode!" she uncovered her dish; slightly burnt meat covered in steak sauce "You do realize a la mode is when you add ice cream?" Marco pointed out "Oh hush Marco, just take a bite."

He did, and he was surprised "Huh, a little chewy but not too bad." Her parents and the eagle seemed to share his opinion "Star, this is the first time I've actually been able to swallow food you made by yourself." Moon looked happily surprised. Her mom's approval was enough to bring a wide smile to the girl's face as she did a tiny clap "I did it! I'm the master of the kitchen!" "I wouldn't go that far."

The meal went by in peace; everyone talked and traded stories as they ate. River would tell a story about how he spent a whole week lost in a furniture store, Moon would talk about her plans for a bakery, and Star and Marco told them about what was going on in their lives. Once the meal was finished, Star brought Marco into the kitchen to help with the pie "So what do you need me to do?" he asked. Star passed Marco half of the fruit "I need you to help cut the fruits that are more…easy to splatter." While her cooking was improving, she had yet to cut anything with less than full force of the knife "Yeah, that's probably for the best." He agreed.

Star took the apple, banana, and midnight berries, while Marco got to work cutting the cherries, orange, blueberries and boysenberries. He sliced up some of the fruits without problem, but halfway through mashing the boysenberries he heard that voice again 'Tick tock Diaz' it caught Marco off guard enough that he jumped back and sent a chunk of berry straight at the wall "Oops, my bad." He nervously wiped off the wall.

Star ceased cutting her own fruit, and gazed at Marco with concern "Marco, what's wrong?" it was more of a demand than a question. Marco played innocent "What? Nothing's wrong! Why would you think there's anything wrong?"

Marco froze as Star tightly gripped his shoulders "Marco, we are a team. If you have a problem…then it's my problem too."

He could feel his heart beating heavily inside his chest, the steady rhythm thumping in his ears as he felt courage rise inside of him, he had to tell her, he wasn't going to let himself be interrupted "Star-"

BOOM!

A loud noise outside interrupted him, both he and Star whipped around to where the sound had come from "What in the…?" Star muttered. A sinking feeling told them both to look outside, Marco begrudgingly shelved his problems for the moment as he and Star made their way out the back door.

Exiting the yurt, the couple expected trouble to greet them, neither was prepared for what kind of trouble crashed on their doorstep "Well, well, well, if it ain't my former mud sister." The hulking figure tauntingly greeted the girl.

"M-Mina?!" Star gasped, utterly shocked to see the depowered super soldier back to a muscular state "W-wha-How—How did you-"

A second figure stood beside Mina, an aged septarian that neither recognized "It's…some old guy!" Marco gasped, very confused. The noise caught the attention of the two regular inhabitants of the yurt (and the eagle) who ran outside to stand by their daughter "Is that…Seth of Septarsis?!" Moon couldn't believe her eyes.

Seth chuckled "Yep, in the flesh!" "You're supposed to be dead!" Moon took a step back, River squinted at the monster "Huh, I thought he was much older?"

"I wasn't dead! That idiot Rhombulus left my frozen body in a basement for over a century!" Seth shouted in frustration. Mina rolled her eyes at her unwanted partner "Yeah yeah we can talk about you later; right now…we have a score to settle."

Assuming fighting stances, Star and Marco stood back to back in preparation for attack. Moon pulled a sword out from a pocket under her dress, a sleek silver saber that matched with her old armor. River whistled and summoned Elizabeak the third to his side, the eagle let out a loud squawk as it beckoned the rest of her flock to their side.

The two sides stood as they waited for the first move to be made, Mina began by rushing at full speed toward Star, letting out a war cry as she flung her body at the teen. Star braced herself for impact as Mina collided against her body, pushing Star back several feet as her shoes dug into the ground. Marco took the opportunity to send a kick into the center of Mina's back, not doing much damage but causing the crazed soldier to snarl at him.

While the teens fought Mina, Moon, River and the eagles rushed at Seth. Claws clashed against sword as the former queen slashed at the septarian, moving her sword quick enough that it seemed like the wind itself was cutting away at the lizards green flesh. The attack left Seth covered in cuts, he only smirked at the silver haired woman as the wounds began to close themselves up "Oh come on!" Moon cried in frustration "Don't worry Moonpie, we'll hit him faster than he can regenerate!" River called from above, his army of eagles hovered in formation "EAGLE!" he screamed as Queen Elizabeak the third nosedived at Seth. The Eagle Queen's beak punctured a hole in his chest before flapping back a few feet as the remaining birds descended upon him.

"Get off of me you feathered nuisances!" Seth tried to swat away the flock as they continuously pecked at him. He raised his claw and swiped at some of the birds, leaving large gashes as their numbers started to dwindle "Elizabeak the eighth! Elizabeak the fifth! Elizabeak the fourteenth, oh that will leave a scar!" River cried out to his fallen birds.

On the other side of the battlefield, Star and Marco were fighting Mina head to head, when the soldier would go to punch one, the other would counter. Mina went to body slam Star, only to be stopped inches from her face as Marco pulled back on her pigtails "Hey, leave the hair alone!" she screamed before whipping her head around, sending Marco flying into the dirt. Mina had no time to rest, as Star came rushing at her and tackled her into a tree. The blonde teen sent several punches into her opponents face "How are you buff and flying again? Why are you with a monster? I need answers Mina!" Star demanded.

Mina scowled "Ugh, the partnership with ol' Seth was not my idea. But if you gotta know, the two of us made a deal with the devil. It may not be the magic I had before, but if it helps me kick your patootie, then any deal is a good one!" she flipped herself backwards, sending them both tumbling down from the tree.

Star landed with a flip, staring down the woman in front of her "A deal? What are you here for?" a wicked smile grew on Mina's face "We need a little something or other, to get our plan in motion. The boss let me in on a couple of secrets going on in these parts." She pointed to the heart stickers on Star's cheeks. Star felt the blood drain from her face as she figured what she was implying "There's no way you're getting anything from me!" she charged at the soldier once more.

Despite her best efforts, Mina stopped her in her tracks with a single arm "Bold of you to assume we're here for you." She grabbed Star by the leg and tossed her aside "Star!" Marco's voice cried out from nearby. The boy sprang into action as he carefully aimed his attacks at where Mina's pressure points were located, expecting to incapacitate the hulking lady. His efforts were futile, as she brushed the hits off like nothing "Nice try little red fighting hood, but you don't have the strength to take me down!" she grabbed him by the front of his hoodie and slammed him into a tree "I could kill you in an instant, but the boss says I gotta bring you in alive."

Marco stared in disbelief "Wait-you're after me?!"

"You're darn right we are! We hear you got just what we need." Mina lifted off into the air, keeping Marco locked firmly in her grip.

Rubbing her aching head, Star pulled herself up just in time to see Mina taking Marco up into the air and far out of her reach "MARCO!" she screamed in panic. She frantically searched for one of her father's eagles to take her up to Mina's height, only to find every last eagle lying on the ground in pain while her parents did their best to fight a regenerating monster. Looking all around her, Star could only see one possible way to win, she desperately did not want to do it, but using it was her last option.

"Rainbow…fist punch!"

A colorful fist soared through the air and nearly knocked Mina over. The warrior's expression flashed in surprise before smiling "So it does still exist."

Star prepared to strike Mina again, when she heard a grunt of pain from where her parents were. Seth twisted River's arm while Moon tried to break him free. Turning her attention back to the ground, Star held out her hand and pointed it at the Septarian "Warnicorn Stampede!" several warnicorns galloped out of thin air and charged straight into Seth, knocking her parents out of his grasp.

Her parents stared at their daughter in utter shock, Moon wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn't make the words leave her mouth. Star gazed at her mother, regretting that the secret was out. She tore off the heart stickers on her cheeks, revealing her real hearts underneath. Her mom could wait a few more minutes; she had one more person to save.

"Let him go Mina!" Star's voice spoke loud and firm, though her opponent did not falter "No can do Butterfly! This boy is instrumental to what we got cooking up, and it's not cookies!"

Perplexed, Star tried to make sense of her "What are you talking about?! Why Marco?"

"Oh, you mean the boy didn't tell you?" Mina sounded amused. She changed her hold on Marco so that her fist was gripping his neck, her other arm ripping the red hoodie he wore into shreds as they felt to the ground. Marco felt his heart nearly stop as he felt his hoodie being forcibly torn from his body, the darkness on his arms and under his shirt was fully visible to a horrified Star below.

"Marco…?" Star couldn't understand what she was seeing. From a different spot on the ground, Moon stared at him with wide eyes "Is-is that-"

A tear slid down Marco's cheek, wanting to say everything to his beloved, his vision began to cloud as he felt himself slowly losing consciousness, only managing to croak out two words "I'm…sorry…" the last thing he heard as his eyes fell was his girlfriend desperately screaming his name.

OXOXOXOX

"Huh?" Marco found himself in an empty void; Absolute nothingness stretched as far as his eyes could see "Where am I?"

A low voice chuckled behind him "You're a smart boy, you figure it out." It was the same voice that had been taunting him in his head for the last few weeks "That voice…I-I know it!" he realized.

Walking forward, Marco found one other figure in the space, a deep purple color and a mouth full of sharp teeth greeted him as he approached "It's been a long time, hasn't it Marco."

"Monster Arm." Marco recognized the figure before him "A-ha! I knew it! You're the one causing this thing on me!" he pointed at the appendage.

"Fat chance, I'm as much of a pawn in this as you are." The arm replied.

"What do you-"Marco took a second look at his old enemy within, it was no longer a whole tentacle, now the arm had been reduced to nothing more than the mouth and some skin surrounding it. What was left was slowly fading into the air "You're disintegrating?"

The mouth frowned at him "I've been trapped here for two years, existing takes a lot of energy. Every moment spent here in your mind I erode piece by piece, it was only a matter of time before I completely ceased to exist. So when that corruption started, I took it as a chance for one last hurrah."

Marco listened intently, he always feared he would come face to face with this foe again, but he was not expecting it to happen like this "Wait, this is my mind? Well that explains why it's so clean in here…and what kind of hurrah are you talking about?"

Monster Arm grinned "I knew what was coming, and I knew you would try and stop it, so with the last of my strength, I've been forcing you to keep quiet until it was too late."

"So it was you keeping me from telling Star!" Marco gasped. The arm before him was almost completely gone as it let out one last gloat "Yep! That was all me! It took the last of my consciousness, but I did it. I may not have been able to take over your body, but I can die satisfied that I helped lead to your downfall!" the last bits of the arm faded away, leaving Marco alone once more.

OXOXOXOX

Everything hurt. His entire body felt numb as he began to lift his eyelids open. His vision was fuzzy but he could make out the shapes of Mina and Seth as they spoke close to him.

"Well, it appears the boy is finally awake."

That voice belonged to neither of them; he did remember Mina saying something about a boss when…his body jolted awake. Where was he? Where was Star? His vision cleared as he realized he was chained to a stone wall in a strange room "You have a lot of questions don't you?" he searched for another person in the room. The only thing besides Mina and Seth was a pitch black orb…that seemed to have glowing red eyes.

"Did…did that ball just talk?" his voice cracked as he asked.

The eyes inside the sphere went between his minions "Would you mind leaving the two of us alone for this, it won't take long." The other two shrugged and left the room, pushing the orb closer to Marco as they let the two of them alone.

"Well, I think some introductions are in order. My name is Ragnarok, the spirit of destruction." The ears stared into his very soul "Ragnarok…you're the spirit Globgor mentioned! Are you the one whose been causing this dark thing on me?!"

"Oh I wish I could take credit for that, but the only one to blame is magic itself." Ragnarok sounded amused "When opportunity strikes, I don't hesitate to take it."

Before Marco could get another word out, he noticed his arms. The dark veins were covering much more than they did when he woke up this morning "Is it-""Accelerating, why yes it is." Ragnarok confirmed. If Marco had a mirror, he would see the veins were growing on his face as well "It always spread so slowly, why is it speeding up?" Marco panicked.

Behind his glass orb, Ragnarok looked pleased "Magic is a very fragile thing. The smallest things can make such a big influence, if the power of a spirit is used for a single spell, its power is overwhelming. The power of destruction is corrupting, wanting only to destroy all that lives."

Marco gulped "Like…the dark unicorn…" his insides twisted in dread as everything started to sink in "Oh no…"

"Oh yes." Ragnarok's grin was twisted and demented "I control all powers of destruction, including those who wield it."

Marco wanted to scream, he needed to warn Star, but he could not do anything as the darkness on his skin covered his whole body and he sank down into it.


	23. Comin' to the Rescue

**The plot is officially in motion! This arc is a psuedo season 5 mini series. There's a few things the show never gave a real answer about, and I intend to make my own answers! **

**For those of you who prefer the fluffy one shots, they will continue after these next few chapters. This arc has six more chapters after this one, until then, to make up for the lack of fluff and as an apology for the angst, each chapter will start with a cute Starco headcanon to lighten the mood! This weeks headcanon is: The two of them go to karaoke every other week and belt out all the love sentence songs at the top of their lungs. They also like to serenade each other with heartfelt love songs.**

**Also to SugarQueen97: No the Elizabeak joke was not in the show. I tried to come up with a name for the bird, then I thought 'What if River gave every single bird the same name?'.**

* * *

The old, abandoned castle was eerily silent in the middle of the night. Not even the hooting of an owl disturbed the air as the world around stood unmoving. Inside the castle, laid an intricate carving on the floor of a claw gripping onto a sphere, nothing in the room, or the whole castle for that matter, had been disturbed for hundreds of years.

A lone figure approached the markings on the floor, holding its hand out in front of them. Black energy began emitting from the hand as the figure sent the power into the floor. From underground, ancient locking mechanisms could be heard unwinding after several centuries of standing still. The carvings in the floor opened up to reveal a hole in the ground beneath it. Slowly rising from the hole, a stone disc floated in the air, the edges covered in runes while the center held a neutron symbol.

The figure reached out its arm, commanding the disc to its grasp. The disc obeyed and flew down into waiting hands "One down, four to go."

OXOXOXOX

As morning arrived in Earthni, most people would be just waking up from a full night of sleep. The monster temple however, was wide awake with activity as a single teenage girl paced through the hallway leading to her room. Star held a map of Earthni in her hands as she used a marker to cross off a part of it with an X "Alright, if he's not in that tower, then maybe I can try the swamp next. Tom still hasn't got back to me on the underworld, so he might have some good news."

Star approached her bedroom door, opening it without taking her eyes off of the map "I already got Kelly here and searching the Spiderbite kingdom, maybe I'll check in with her next."

"Star."

Lifting her head from the map, Star noticed her mother and adopted grandmother sitting on her bed. Both looked at her with concerned eyes "Star, could you please slow down for a minute and talk to us." Her mother pleaded.

"How can I slow down?! Mina and that other guy kidnapped Marco! I have been searching for them since yesterday and I haven't found a thing!" Star nearly threw the contents in her arms over her floor as she wildly gestured, her breath frantic and uneven. She had been up all night traveling around the country, looking for any lead at all. The only thing she had to show for her efforts was dark bags under her eyes.

"I know this can't be easy for you, but we need you to take ten minutes to sit down and talk with us." Moon got up and held her gently by the shoulders. Glancing at the woman before her, Star sighed reluctantly and went to sit next to Eclipsa on her bed. The queen reached out and brushed her thumb against the hearts on the girl's cheeks "Those cheek emblems…their not stickers…" she sounded amazed.

Star sadly turned her head away from her granny, lifting up her hand as she sent golden magic floating in the air "Yeah, I have magic again." Her voice was blunt and disappointed. She ended the spell with a clench of her fists, avoiding eye contact with her elders.

Waving her own hand in the air, Eclipsa tried to command the magic she once had, but nothing would happen for her "So, if magic has returned, why can't we use it?"

Star covered her face with her hands as she fell backwards onto her pillow "I don't know! I have been trying to figure out why only I can use magic!" she released her palms from her face and stared up at her mother "When did this happen?!" "Right after that big flash at the star shower." She answered her mother.

Moon rubbed her temples "Do you know why it's back?" "Blame thermodynamics mom!" Star raised her voice in frustration. Crossing her arms, Moon gave her daughter a stern look "And when pray tell, were you planning on telling us about the magic?" her daughter let out an irritated breath "Probably never!"

"What?! Star, why in the world wouldn't you tell us?!" Moon demanded.

Star sat up and glared at her mother "Gee, I don't know? Maybe, it's because the last time you had magic, you created an army that nearly killed all the monsters!" she blurted out.

A hurt look flashed across her mother's face as the words left her mouth, leaving the former queen in stunned silence. Star's anger melted into regret, not daring to meet her mom's eyes when she finally spoke "That…is a pretty good reason…" Moon admitted.

Star took a deep breath "Look, we can talk about all this magic stuff later. Right now, the only thing on my mind is finding Marco." She looked back to the map lying beside her pillow. Eclipsa raised an eyebrow "If you have your magic back, why don't you just use the all seeing eye to find him?" she suggested.

"That was my first idea! But the spell won't work, watch!" Star stood up and held her hands in front of her "I summon the all seeing eye, to tear a hole into the sky, reveal to me that which is hidden, unveil to me what is forbidden." Despite her incantation, nothing happened. No magic reaction whatsoever.

"Hmm…" Eclipsa thought to herself "Maybe you only are able to use your own spells?"

"That can't be it." Moon disagreed "She used the Warnicorn Stampede created by Skywynne." She recalled the spell used to free her from Seth's grasp. Grabbing the dimensional scissors, Star tried to cut open a portal in front of them. The portal would blip for a second and then vanish "That is what happens when I try to open a portal to the realm of magic. The magic dimension is still destroyed, Glossaryck and the Commission are still dead, where is the magic even coming from?" she pushed back tears that threatened to leak from her eyes "Why is all of this happening? Why did they take Marco? What was that black stuff on him? What the heck is going on with my life!?"

Star clenched the sides of her head and curled up next to her bed, letting a single tear fall down her cheek "This was supposed to be our happily ever after! We were supposed to live normal lives and not have to deal with any of this anymore!" she shouted in frustration.

Moon knelt beside her daughter and wrapped her arms around her "No one lives happily ever after Star, life is full of challenges. The only thing we can do is confront them and make the best out of it." She felt Star relax as she hugged her back "While I don't have any answers on why any of this is happening, there is one thing I am certain of." Moon spoke as she pulled her head away to look Star right in the eyes "That darkness on Marco, without a doubt it's the same stuff that tainted my arms after I used Eclipsa's spell."

The former queen would recognize that substance anywhere; after all she had lived with it on her since her teen years. Only in the last year did her skin heal from the after effects of the spell. Star looked at her mother with troubled eyes "But…why would it be on Marco? He never used the spell!"

"If I may, I have a quick question?" Eclipsa slightly raised her hand, reminding the other two that she was still present "Did anything happen to him when the two of you were in the magic dimension?"

For a moment, Star felt her heart stop "The unicorn…" she whispered to herself. That had to be it, why Marco was covered in that stuff "The dark unicorn was made of that stuff. It must have happened when Marco was stabbed!"

"This is not good." Eclipsa looked worried "There's no telling what that stuff will do. Star is right, we need to drop magic for now and get her boyfriend back." Her words put a smile on Star's face, grateful that she could count on her granny.

OXOXOXOX

While Star focused her search efforts with her friends, Moon led Eclipsa into the library of the temple "Seth was one of the people who kidnapped Marco, if he's involved then it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out some old monster hideouts from his time." Moon searched the column of books for the section she needed, pushing a ladder by her side as she caught sight of her target.

Eclipsa held the ladder steady as Moon grabbed an armful of books from the top shelf "I am truly thankful that you moved the Butterfly library into this castle. This kind of knowledge would be a tragedy to lose." "Oh think nothing of it; I love a good book after all." Eclipsa commented back, moving out of the way as Moon stepped down from the ladder.

The two walked over to a desk and spread their finds out in a pile, Eclipsa brought out a copy of Star's map to cross off what had already been checked "It's incredible how much ground she has covered in less than a day." Eclipsa sounded impressed.

"She loves that boy more than anything; it's why our dimensions cleaved together." Moon did not take her eyes off of the page she was reading, focused on the task at hand.

Eclipsa stopped at her words "Moon, do you think them cleaving the worlds together could be a part of what is happening?" this got Moon to turn away from her book "It's…a very strong possibility." She admitted "Merging dimensions is something that had never been done before. Those two created a miracle, but even a miracle can have unintended side effects."

As Moon went back to her reading, Eclipsa briefly left the room, only to return minutes later with a hatful of Snooker bars. She took a seat next to Moon and placed a candy bar on her page "This will take a while, we're gonna need to keep our energy up." Eclipsa spoke as Moon unwrapped the candy, followed by looking at the hat filled with more of the sweets "Eclipsa, how did you get so many out of the candy machine so quickly?" "Oh, I have a hammer next to all the machines in case of a candy emergency. It wastes a lot of glass windows, but it saves me time." Eclipsa found nothing wrong with her logic.

OXOXOXOX

"Status report team."

Star held her phone up to her face, four smaller screens took up her own and showed Pony Head, Tom, Janna and Kelly all in different locations "Tom, anything in the underworld?" "Nothing, there is no way they are hiding here." Tom's expression was disappointed; he had been working almost as hard as Star was. The blonde sighed and looked at another corner of her screen "Janna, how bout you?" the aforementioned beanie wearing girl looked to be in some sort of dark alley "Nothing on my end too. I've checked every hotspot for criminal activity, no sign of them on all ends. Now if you hadn't made me remove my tracking device on him then I could've found him with the push of a button."

"Oh come on, you know it was really creepy!" she shot back to her friend "Kelly, you're next." Star had summoned Kelly from her dimension to help in the search, it wasn't how she wanted her first trip to Earthni to go, but Kelly was a great hunter and a good friend "Same for me, all my leads were dead ends. Things have shifted since I was last in Mewni, I can't work as good as I can without knowing the land." Kelly was balancing on a branch in a tall tree, it got her a good view of the land but her range was still limited.

"Fair enough." Star sighed "Pony, please tell me you have a lead!" the horse in question seemed to be in a store of sorts "Well he is definitely not in the shoe store." She replied. Star facepalmed at her old friend "Pony Head, this is serious! Stop searching in the mall!" "Fine, I'll go look somewhere else." Pony rolled her eyes, not bothering to mention that she would be looking in the hair salon next.

Star closed her phone in annoyance "Why would she even look in a shoe store, Pony has no feet!" she slumped onto her windowsill. Her eyes stared at the world beyond her window, somewhere in this vast land was her Marco, if it meant searching under every rock a hundred times, she would do it. She would search for him even if it took hundreds of years. She didn't even want to think about why Mina and Seth had taken him.

She had begun to turn around and leave the window, when she saw something in the corner of her vision "No…" Star did a double take out of her window. Stealthily hiding behind a bush was none other than Mina Loveberry "What the heck?!" she watched as Mina darted from hiding place to hiding place, reaching an open entrance to the temple and heading inside.

Opening her window, Star summoned Cloudy and had him float her down to where Mina entered. She poofed Cloudy away and hid against the wall. Mina was slowly hovering down the hall, heading to the basement "What is she up to?" as much as Star wanted to rush in and demand Marco's return, this was too suspicious. Why would Mina be sneaking into the Monster Temple basement? Star decided to wait for now and quietly follow her.

Mina's trail led her through a few hallways, a flight of stairs, and finally past a large door. The end destination was indeed the temple basement, a storage room for all sorts of things that were no longer in use. Star ducked behind a cardboard box, poofing up a tiny gold flying puff ball and whispering for it to go get her mom and Eclipsa. The creation nodded and flew out the way they came. The blonde peaked out from where she hid as she silently watched her enemy.

Mina looked at the floor of the room before tossing several boxes and other knickknacks aside. When the floor had cleared it showed a carved circle in the center of the rune, the inside decorated with a carving of a sun and star in the middle of a vortex "Ha! I knew it! I knew I saw something that looked like a seal when I was camping out in this dump!" Mina congratulated herself.

"Seal?" Star repeated to herself quietly, raising an eyebrow at the crazed woman. From under her helmet, Mina pulled out a walkie talkie and adjusted the frequency "This is Mina to base; the cream pie is in the oven! I repeat, the cream pie is in the oven!" whoever was on the other end hesitated to respond "…I take it that means you found a seal?" "You bet I did! I told Seth I saw one back in the monster capital while I was staking the place out!" she sounded very proud of herself "Good job Mina, the others will join you shortly." The voice relayed before cutting the transmission.

The voice Mina was talking to was someone Star had never heard before, but given the context Star figured it was her new boss. Mina relaxed and laid on her back as she hovered in the air, waiting for her next move. Star thought over her own course of action, if Seth wasn't here yet, then now would be the best time to take her on headfirst before she gets backup. With a slow flick of her wrists, Star summoned a spell into her hands before making her presence known "WINTERSTORM HYPER BLOW!"

The attack took Mina by surprise and landed a direct hit, freezing most of her body as she watched Star come into view "Mud sister!" "Rainbow stretchy flypaper!" Star unleashed long rainbow tendrils that wrapped around her captive, holding her further in place as Star came forward.

"How did you know I was down here?!" Mina was genuinely surprised, she considered herself a master of stealth "You're not as good as you think you are Mina." Star glared. Footsteps echoed from behind the door until it burst open to reveal Moon and Eclipsa brandishing swords "We got your message, where-" Moon started to speak, but seeing Mina captured answered her question "Huh, you got her already."

"Yep, you're slipping Loveberry." Star taunted her former hero "Tell me where Marco is, and maybe I'll go easy on you!" she summoned golden rainbow fists onto both of her hands. Mina looked more amused than threatened "You think I'm afraid of a little light magic? You're gonna have to do better than that heart cheeks!"

Not taking her eyes off of Mina, Star released the fists into thin air. Star gathered the magic back to her and shifted it into pure golden energy, shaping into a giant narwhal and sending it directly at Mina. Watching as her tossed a giant narwhal against the former Solarian, Eclipsa stared at the magic intently "Golden magic…" she sounded suspicious.

Mina did not seem too hurt by the attack, her muscles taking the brunt of the hit "Heh, well I'll be, that was pretty good." She admitted. Star looked her right in the eyes and spoke firmly "Tell me where Marco is right now!"

"Wow, beaten by a teenager. I thought you were a Solarian?" everyone turned as a new voice entered the room. Seth stood in the doorway, blocking something standing behind him "Can it old man!" Mina shouted back "At least I don't wear dentures." "You promised you'd never tell!"

Before another argument could break out between the two, another voice came from behind Seth "How pathetic can the two of you be?"

Hearing that voice, Star felt her heart stop. That voice was one she would recognize anywhere, the one she loved to hear more than any other. Star froze in place as Seth stepped aside to reveal the person behind him.

Marco.

It was Marco, the love of her life. But he looked different from how he usually did. Instead of a red hoodie, he wore a black long coat that reached near his ankles with a cut in the back separating the bottom in two. The coat was zipped on top with the collar opened around his neck, revealing a bit of his grey shirt underneath. Two grey straps kept the front closed up, with a belt the same color dividing the flowing bottom. The belt itself had an upside down V shape in the center. He wore black pants with black boots reaching his knees with a V shape. But the biggest difference was in his face, his warm brown eyes were now a menacing red, and two pitch black crescent moons adorned his cheeks.

"Marco…" Star whispered in disbelief, she began walking towards him "You-your back! I-we've all been looking everywhere for y-"a strong blast of dark magic interrupted her as it blasted her in the chest, knocking her to the floor.

Marco looked at her with disinterest "This is the other magic user? I was hoping this would be more of a challenge." His words were cold and annoyed. The Marco she knew didn't speak with such a cold tone "M-Marco…? What are you doing?" Star stared in disbelief, her voice quivering "It's me Marco! It's Star! Don't you remember me?"

"Should I?" he answers bluntly. His words hurt more than the blast did, Star began to get up and approach him again "Stop kidding around. You know who I am, stop acting like this Marco!" she pleaded with increasing desperation. All she got in return was a cold, heartless stare in return as he held out his arm "Release!" in a flash of purple, his arm shifted into Monster Arm.

Before Star could react, the arm grabbed her by the wrist and threw her into a wall "Star!" she heard her mother call out her name. The blonde didn't respond, she just stared at her boyfriend with wide eyes "Marco…" that was not an accident. He really attacked her on purpose. Marco brought the arm back to his side; the arm no longer had its own sentience, now it was just an extension of Marco's own arm.

"That's enough Marco!" Moon called to him as she approached with her sword "Return." He calmly spoke, with another purple flash, his arm returned to normal. Moon approached and swung at him with her sword, holding back so she wouldn't hurt him too bad "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you better stop acting like this!" he effortlessly dodges her attacks, raising an eyebrow as he speaks to her "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm not acting." Dark magic collects in his hands, he claps his hands together before slowly pulling them apart, creating a sword like shape out of his magic "Deadly Lance!" he swung his arms and the swords multiplied and launched at the former queen with alarming speed.

That attack did a good deal of damage to Moon, her skin now covered in bruises. She motioned to bring her sword back up, but Marco rushed at her and sent an energy punch into her gut. The silver hair woman withstood the hit, refusing to fall. Before another spell could be cast, another sword got Marco's attention "Looks like someone else wants to try their luck." Marco smirked.

Casting Moon aside, Marco set his sights on Eclipsa. The queen of darkness studied the magic before her "That is…very powerful dark magic." "Want a better look at it?" Marco taunted, lifting his arm out in front of him "Shadow Bombs!" three bombs made of shadows emerged from his magic and surrounded Eclipsa, setting off an explosion that lightly singed her dress but otherwise left her unscathed.

Star watched it all; she stared blankly at the fight unfolding before her. She sat on her knees, too numb to move. She hoped this wasn't really happening, that her eyes were playing tricks on her. But the pain she felt as she hit the wall was real enough.

Brushing off a tiny ember from her dress, Eclipsa readied her weapon, thinking of a way to attack without hurting the boy "Marco…this level of dark magic is very dangerous." Marco rolled his eyes "What would you know about dark magic?" Eclipsa stared in surprise "You really don't know who I am, do you?" her voice held a sadness to it.

"Release!" Marco summoned his monster arm, snatching the blade from Eclipsa's grasp "No, I don't. Frankly, I don't care. All I know is that you and the other two are my enemies. So stop calling me that weird thing you keep saying and get out of my way!" he tossed the sword aside, clattering to the ground with a thud.

Now weaponless, Eclipsa knew there wasn't anything else she could do without magic, yet she stood firm in his presence "Why are the three of you in my castle?" she finally asked the million dollar question.

Marco returned the monster arm and stepped up to the seal on the floor "You have a seal, Lord Ragnarok needs it." He put it simply. At the mention of the name Ragnarok, Eclipsa's features paled. Marco let out magic like he did before with the first seal, unlocking the ancient mechanisms and revealing a disc hidden below, this one decorated with a diamond resembling Rhombulus's head surrounded by a shield.

Regaining her footing, Moon trudged her feet forward "That's…that's Rhombulus's insignia!" she watched the disc land in Marco's hand "That makes two." He looked to his side to see Seth freeing Mina from the magic flypaper "Let's move it already, our work here is done." The older minions begrudgingly agreed with him.

Watching the trio walk away, Star finally found the voice to speak again "Marco, wait! Don't go! Please…please stay with me!" she pleaded. Marco continued to ignore her as he and his associates left, leaving the three Butterfly women standing in shock. Star forgot how to breathe; she just sat in a catatonic state as she tried to understand what happened to her beloved Marco.


	24. Please Come Back

**Well another week another chapter.**

**To lighten the mood before the drama, here is this week's fluffy headcanon for the OTP: On the subject of what their favorite thing to do together is, Star and Marco tell other people that it's going on adventures together. What it actually is, is cuddling together.**

* * *

After all that she had already been through, Star thought there would be no more heartbreak in her life.

But the universe had other plans…

The young Butterfly lay curled on her bed in the dark, softly crying as she cradled the necklace given to her by her boyfriend just a few days ago. It was too cruel, she and Marco were finally happy together, but after only seven months he was snatched away once again. It wouldn't matter if she found him, since he didn't recognize her when he attacked earlier. Marco didn't even recognize his own name; Star could only sob as she thought about what those people had done to her beloved.

Star traced her finger over the engravings on the necklace, wanting nothing else but to hear him say he loves her once more. Her mind flashes back to some of their happier times together, eating nachos, dancing in the ballroom, watching the sunset as he holds her close and rests his cheek on her head as she listens to his heartbeat.

A gentle knock on her door stole her from her thoughts "Hey, it's Kelly! Can I come in?" uncurling from her ball, Star sat up and stared at the door "Come in." he voice sounded hoarse.

Kelly entered the room and flicked on the lights, her own expression pained as well "Your mom says that you've been in here crying for a few hours now…" she made her way over to her distraught friend. Taking a seat next to Star on the bed, she patted her on the back as the blonde began speaking "Why did it have to be Marco? If it was anyone else I could kick their butt, anyone but him!" she brought her hands up to her face and cried into her palms "He would never hurt me! He would never be evil! None of this should be happening!"

Tears soaked the Woollet's sleeve, her own eyes teared up "Star…" her friend looked up at the sound of her name…

SLAP!

"OW! What the heck was that for?!" Star held her sore cheek, dumbfounded that the girl had slapped her. Kelly took Star by the shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes "You need to get a grip on yourself! I know how hard this is for you, but you're not the only one hurting right now. I care about Marco too, but there isn't any time to feel sad right now. Every second we waste crying, is another second Marco is in their grasp!" Star looks down sadly, causing Kelly's expression to soften somewhat "Star, Right now Marco needs you more than ever. If anyone can save him, it's you!"

Star stared at her friend as she spoke, every word hitting her in the gut "I…" she took a deep breath, wiping her tears away as determination shined in her eyes "I needed a little sense knocked into me."

Kelly smiled proudly as Star got up off of her bed "Your right, Marco needs me!" she looked to the green haired girl "He needs all of his friends. Marco has gone above and beyond for all of us, so we can't let him down!" Star grabbed the yellow star shaped purse around her shoulder and tossed it into a corner. Making her way over to her wardrobe, she skimmed through everything before stopping on a red hoodie. Pulling the garment over her arms, she leaves the hoodie unzipped in the front as it frames the pink squid/ghost on her dress.

As Star posed dramatically with the new addition to her outfit, another voice came from behind the door "Kelly, did you get through to her? Cause like, I got plan B all ready if it didn't." Kelly rolled her eyes "Nah, It's all good Pony Head!" "Ok really, cause like I've got this whole musical number that-""NO!" listening to her friends banter put a tiny smile on Star's face.

The door opened up with not only Pony Head but her mother and Eclipsa as well "Are you holding up alright dear?" Moon bent over to look her daughter in the eye, brushing a dried tear from her cheek "I'm still standing, that's good enough for right now." Star admitted truthfully.

Eclipsa approached her granddaughter "I know things are…not ideal at the moment, but there is something I must ask you." Star nodded for her to continue "Star, are you able to use any dark magic? Any at all?"

Star paused for a moment, thinking back she hasn't used any dark spells since the magic returned to her. The only one she attempted was the All Seeing Eye and it failed. Taking a step back from the others, Star aimed her arm at the wall and shouted "Midnight Shriek!" nothing happened; she turned to Pony Head "Low self-esteem nightmare dream!" once again nothing happened "Oh you did not just try and cast that on me!" Pony sassed.

Star gazed at her hands "I-I can't! I can't use any dark spells at all!"

Eclipsa brought her hand to her chin "That's what I thought. When I saw your magic, it glowed such a vibrant gold, devoid of all darkness. Marco's magic was the opposite, all dark and no light." "So…what does that mean?" Star looked uneasy.

"I…can't say for sure. But sadly that is not the most important detail I learned during the fight." The Queen's face turned grim. Moon nudged her with an unreadable expression "Go on, tell them what you told me."

Eclipsa took a breath as she recounted what she knew "It was what Marco said, he mentioned the name Ragnarok. I believe that may be the mastermind behind this entire ordeal."

Flashbacks play in Eclipsa's memories as she narrates what occured "Ragnarok is an ancient force of pure destruction. During the war, Globgor's father made a deal and gained control of the Beasts of Ragnarok, gargoyle like creatures with the power of instant decay. He made Globgor lead them on the attack of the Spiderbite people, hence that painting in the gallery. The beasts and the Solarian's ended the battle by wiping each other out."

Moon eyed Eclipsa "That should have been the end of it…" she shot Eclipsa a disapproving glare, the current queen pulled her hat over her face before the flashback continued "However, it was shortly after that time that I began further experimenting with dark spells. My mother had left me her unfinished total annihilation spell, one meant to wipe out all monsters. I never wanted to finish the spell, but a desperate situation pushed my hand. The Septarian's were growing in rank and power, when Globgor's father died they aimed to take the throne. He warned me that if they took control of his army, he wouldn't be able to minimize the casualties. He gave me something to complete the spell, a severed tail from one of the beasts."

"Ooh plot twist!" Pony Head blurted out, everyone shushed her

Eclipsa ignored the outburst and kept going "With that tail I was able to dissect the pure destructive power used by the beasts and incorporate it into the spell. The total annihilation spell was a success, but that was not a good thing. It was far too powerful and near impossible to control. But with some minor adjustments, I branched my own spell off of it, my darkest spell. A less powerful but more controllable version of my mother's spell, I…well I got rid of the Septarian leader of that time with it. His brother Seth took control afterwards and Globgor remained the monster king until we were frozen."

The flashback ceased and Eclipsa turned to her audience "So, any questions?"

The three teenagers sat with mouths agape "So…you used the power from a being of pure destruction to finish a dangerous and lethal spell?" Kelly double checked, in disbelief. Eclipsa shot back a nervous smile "We all make mistakes don't we?"

Moon raised an eyebrow "Yes, but yours set off a chain of events that led to further corruption of evil, dark magic."

"Dark magic is not inherently evil; it depends on how you use it." Eclipsa countered.

Approaching the bickering ladies, Star held out her hands to separate them "OK, so this guy basically caused that dark unicorn and has untold cataclysmic powers. What does that have to do with now?"

"That thing Marco took, he called it a seal." Eclipsa thought back "Judging by the symbol on it, it was created by the late magic commission. He said he already had two, so if there is one for each member that is five in total."

"Yeah, sure, but what does it do?" Star pried.

Moon spoke this time "Given what we know, Ragnarok is the one who gathered Mina and Seth. If he's a being with that much power then he was most likely imprisoned by the commission. It's not too big a stretch to guess that getting those seals will free him from wherever he is."

"So we have to get those seals before they do." Kelly pounded her fist into her palm, ready for action.

"Precisely." Moon nodded.

"How the hay are we supposed to find those seals?! Is there like a compass or a navigator or something?" Pony sounded unsure of all of this. Her words gave Star an idea "Navigator-of course!"

OXOXOXOX

Back in the old castle, Ragnarok's group was gathered in a living room like chamber. Mina floated on her back as she slowly drifted across the room; Seth was wearing reading glasses as he flipped through the pages of his book 'keeping up with modern day slang', Marco leaned against the wall further away from the other two.

"That was like taking candy from a monster baby!" Mina said smugly "I sure showed that little princess who was boss!"

Marco rolled his eyes "Yeah, nothing says 'I'm winning' more than being tied up in frozen flypaper." He scoffed.

Seth looked up from his book and pointed at Mina "Ha! You just got…" he took a quick glance at his book "Burned!"

Mina ceased floating and stood in front of Seth "Is the book really necessary?" "Absolutely! I am sick of all those young hooligans calling me old man! It's-"Seth takes another peak at his book "Wiggity-wiggity whack bro!"

Pinching his forehead in frustration, Marco let out an annoyed grunt "Why did he have to choose these two morons?" he made his way over to the orb in the center of the table, currently engrossed in readings of his own "Please tell me you found the next seal, I can't listen to one more minute of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum over here." He gestured to Mina and Seth, getting their attention "Wait, which of us is which?" Mina asked, genuinely curious.

"The commission was very careful not to have any written record of where the seals are hidden. But even so, they are predictable." Ragnarok responded.

Beckoning the other two to the table, Ragnarok motioned to a text beside him "These are places with significance to each member, three of these hold the remainder of the seals."

Seth slapped Marco's back "Better start looking with your magic, I'll be in my-"checks his book "-crib." As Seth began to walk away, Marco summoned his monster arm and pulled him back "I can't find these stupid things with my magic. The only way we're finding them is by going to each place one by one, and by we, I mean the two of you are going to scout ahead and call me when you find one."

Seth snorted "Give me one good reason I should listen to you!"

With a devious smirk, Marco lifted Seth up with his tentacle and sent him flying through the wall, leaving an imprint in the stone wall as Seth was blown into the next room over "Is that a good reason, or do I have to use you for magic practice?" Marco leaned into the whole in the wall. Seth gave a thumbs up "It's tight dude."

OXOXOXOX

"So yeah, that's the gist of it. Can you help me out?"

Finishing her recap, Star gazed expectantly at the two spirits before her. Following her conversation with the others, she opened a portal to the Plains of Time and sought after Alphonse's ship. The spirit of navigation himself and the Blood Moon heard out her problems with sympathetic hearts.

"I may be able to help ye, but I can't give ye much." Alphonse regretfully informed her.

"Look, all I need is for you to tell me where the other seals are." Star pleaded "Better yet, you can show me where their hideout is so I can kick down their door and take Marco back!"

He saw the way her eyes shined with hope, he truly wished he could do just as she asked "I'm sorry Star, but my powers don't work that way. I cannot go searching for something specific; all I can do is find where ye need to go next."

Up above, The Blood Moon sent out a couple of flashes. Alphonse turns upwards and looks annoyed with the moon "Stop being saltier than seawater!" the moon flashed a short response in return, Star raised an eyebrow as she tried to understand "What did it say?"

Alphonse sighed in exasperation "Do not be worrying about it; she's just trying to help in her own way." He stood up from his chair and cracked his knuckles "Now then, let's see where the universe needs ye to be next!"

The area around the boat darkened as Alphonse began muttering words to himself. As he continued, their surroundings shifted from a boat to being in the middle of a small galaxy. Below their feet, the deck lit up with ice blue runes, forming a compass of sorts that began to lift off the ground and shrink until it floated between Star and the spirit. A dial made of light began to materialize and spin itself around, whipping up a gust of wind in the process. Alphonse held out his hands and stopped the dial, it pointed to a single star in the space they stood.

"That's where you need to go next. The Aquarius dimension." Alphonse spoke, the galaxy and compass fading as everything went back to normal.

"The Aquarius Dimension, is that where a seal is?" Star asked, uncertain.

The captain nodded in response "It would appear so. If me memory serves me right, that dimension was a favorite vacation spot for Omnitraxus Prime. It would be a good hiding place outside of Mewni."

Smiling in appreciation, Star looked to Alphonse "Thank you, this really helps." "I wish I could do more, but I'm not a very powerful spirit. I am pretty handy when ye can't find ye keys though!" Alphonse responded.

Star waved goodbye as she went back to get her friends, leaving Alphonse and the Blood Moon on their own. Alphonse let out a heavy breath and looked to his companion "Ye know, I may not be a powerful spirit…but ye are…"the Blood Moon let out some flustered flashes "Come on! I know ye are concerned about them too! They may not have kept your power, but ye chose them for a reason." Alphonse floated back inside the ship, leaving the Blood Moon hanging alone in the sky, contemplating.

OXOXOXOX

Scissors cut through the fabric of reality, creating a shimmering portal for Star and her friends to emerge out of. Star, Pony Head and Kelly took in the dimension they walked into, vast blue ruins covered in kelp as far as the eye could see.

"Never been here before." Kelly mused as she looked around, brushing off kelp from a long deteriorated engraving. A few feet away, Pony Head floated over to the wall and looked outside an opening "Woah, check it out! This place is all underwater!" the other two hurried over to see that, for once, Pony Head was right. Outside of the ruins was a bubble-like barrier, separating them from the ocean beyond "The waterfolk have nothing on this place!" Pony added.

Pulling away, Star began making her way further inside the ruins. Not even ten feet in, she heard some strange groaning. Rushing around the corner, she found a whole group of mermaid's in armor, all writhing on the floor in agony.

"Oh my gosh!" Star ran over to the closest merman "What happened?"

The merman squinted his eyes open "We-we're the guards of the lost sanctuary. Our duty is to keep away people who would do harm to this historical site…but today, we have failed." He hung his head in shame.

Star carefully shook his shoulder "Who did this?" she had a sinking suspicion she already knew the answer.

"There was a muscular woman and a lizard who kept using slang incorrectly…we almost had them but then a boy with moons on his cheeks came out of a portal…we were no match for him…" the merman recounted.

Standing back on her feet, Star stared blankly on ahead "Did…did you see where they went?" she hesitated to ask. The merman coughed "They were heading for the aquatic chamber…you can catch them if you hurry."

Taking one last look back, Star told the merman "Once we catch them, we'll get you guys some medical help." The merman nodded gratefully in return. With not a single moment to lose, Star ran down the hall as fast as her feet could take her.

"Star, wait up!" she heard Kelly call from behind her. Slowing down, she allowed her friends to catch up before going forward "Do you even have a plan?" Kelly wondered aloud.

"Uhh…" Star's answer was not reassuring.

Grabbing her friend by the shoulder, Kelly looked Star in the eyes "Let me rephrase that. Can you fight Marco?" Star didn't give an answer, but the look in her eyes told Kelly what she needed to know "Alright, you and Pony take the other two goons and I'll take Marco." Kelly reached into her hair and pulled out her massive sword.

Closing in on the door, the girls found their opponent's about to enter what they presumed was the aquatic chamber "Hold it right there!" Kelly called out, causing Ragnarok's trio to turn around and take notice of those behind them "You!" Mina pointed at Star "How did you know we we're here!?"

"A dead guy told me to go here." Star shrugged. Mina and Seth looked really annoyed at the answer "Really?! We've it took us 28 tries to find a seal and you just get told point blank!" "That is messed up in the hiz house!" everyone turned to Seth, severely confused. Marco just shook his head "Stop, just…stop."

Gribbing her sword tight, Kelly took advantage of the momentary confusion to rush forward and knock the other two out of the way, clearing a path to Marco. He raised an eyebrow at the girl before him "Am I supposed to be threatened by you?" Kelly kept her eyes on him as she swung her sword to her side, cutting solid stone from where it stood and letting it fall to the ground "You tell me."

From behind Mina and Seth came face to face with Star and Pony "Well look who came crawling back for more!" Mina taunted, Pony glared daggers at her "B-fly, grab my axe horn." She motioned to the inside of her neck. Digging inside, it took Star a moment to find what she was looking for. Once she found it, she placed swapped the horn on Pony's head with one that had an axe on top "Bring it!"

As Star and Pony began their battle, Kelly fought off the dark spells Marco was throwing at her "Poison Arrowhead!" glowing purple diamonds launched from Marco with a swipe of his arm. Spinning her sword in a circle, Kelly deflected the projectiles. The second they ceased, she sprung forward and slashed her sword to his side, grunting loudly as he managed to dodge. Backing up a few steps, Marco pushed his arms together and held them straight forward "Corona Pulse!" a scorching laser burst forward, Kelly rolled out of the way inches before she got hit, a small tip of her hair got singed as she moved.

"Not bad, didn't take you for the magic type." Despite the situation, Kelly was impressed by his skill.

Stopping, Marco let out a dry laugh "Wow, you have absolutely no idea what I am." he flicked a blast of dark magic in her direction. Swinging her sword, Kelly sliced the blast in half as it passed by her "I know WHO you are, Marco."

"Why do you keep using that word?" Marco slid to the right as Kelly brought her sword down where he had stood "That's not a word, it's your name dummy!" despite what she said, Marco paid it no attention. Turning away from another of Kelly's strikes, Marco flipped back behind her "Release!" he shot his monster arm out and grabbed Kelly by the waist, holding her up in the air.

Back with the others, things were working out better. Mina tried several times to punch Star, but the blonde rolled under her and cast magic directly onto the warrior "Strawberry Kitten Storm!" cat and strawberry hybrids flew from Star's hands and hit Mina right in the neck. The former solarian growled and lunged at Star, who calmly stood before her "Raspberry Ribbon Lasso!" an energy rope shot out and wrapped around Mina, with a strong pull Star flung her to the other side of the room "You're getting predictable Mina!" Star called out.

"Predict this!" Mina threw her hat and the heart-cheeked girl, Star ducked as it anticlimactically fell on the floor. She turned back to Mina and pointed at the helmet, giving her an 'I told you so' look.

With Pony Head, she hacked away at Seth's body, cutting off his hand as it kept rapidly regrowing "Dang, doesn't that hurt?" she wondered aloud. Seth grabbed her by the mane, yanking it hard "Prepare to be…" he takes his book from behind his back "Skedoodled!"

Unable to keep a straight face, Pony Head burst into laughter, making the lizard concerned "What-what is happening?"

"Dang man, you are really terrible at slang." Pony laughed "I'm pretty sure that's not even slang."

Seth gripped her mane tighter "Silence, I will pop n lock on this raging scene dawg!" and with that, Pony Head fell into hysterics "Oh-Oh my goodness-this is-that is the best sentence an old person has ever said!"

"I am not old!" Seth growled, tossing Pony Head away "Prepare to get yeet!"

"My sides-my sides are splitting!" Pony howled in laughter, a minute later and she finally calmed down and went right up into Seth's face "Alright dude, it's time ya girl Pony Head taught ya some real slang!"

Kelly struggled against the monster arm; its grip was crushing her bones. Wiggling an arm free, she grabbed her sword and prepared to cut the limb "Return!" Marco called it back, leaving Kelly suspended in the air before dropping to the floor. Examining his arm, Marco seemed amused "Wow, you haven't even left a mark on me. I thought you were trying to beat me?"

The Woollett got up on her feet, her breath ragged as she pushed onward "I am trying to beat you! I have to hold back so I don't maim you for life!" she supported her weight on her sword. Marco stared in confusion "Why in the world would you hold back? In case you haven't noticed, I am in fact aiming to kill."

"Yeah, I know. That's what's wrong." Everything about this was wrong, she wanted to go to Earthni, but instead of hanging out with Marco again, she was fighting him off as he tried to kill her "You've never been a killer Marco. That's not who you are! Nothing is right about any of this! I dreamt of seeing all my friends again for so long, only to have to fight my ex-breakup buddy so he doesn't unleash some all powerful evil!"

Her words fell on deaf ears; Marco simply glared at her with his arm out to the side "Shadow Blade!" he formed a sword out of his dark magic, simple and a near-black purple color. Without another word, Marco went at Kelly and rapidly swiped his sword. Doing her best to avoid being hit, Kelly matched his swings blow to blow.

When it came to sword fighting, Kelly had the upper hand, Marco may have been good but she was better. Their fight moved around the ruins, neither letting up as they continued hacking away at the other's weapon. The battle raged as Kelly was pushed back into a new room, white stone covered the towering walls as waterfalls poured from openings in every direction. Looking down, Kelly noticed that she stood upon a stone mural, one with a star and sun separated by a claw.

"Fizzypop Bubble Burst!"

Bright pink bubbles shot from Star's hands, blasting Mina right in the face. The soldier rubbed her eyes vigorously "Argh! My eyes!" taking her hand away for a moment, Star could see her bloodshot eyes "Another trick I learned on earth, soap burns when it gets in your eye!"

"B-Fly!" Star turned as Pony came to her side "Let's do the thing before she can see again!" Star nodded as Pony got in front of her "Warnicorn Stampede!" several warnicorns appeared from thin air, in the front was Pony Head flying full speed "Special Pony Head Edition!" she shouted, and then quietly added "Featuring Pony Head."

Mina regained her vision a moment too late, getting stampeded by the horses for several moments. Once the horses had passed, Mina lay covered in hoof prints "Ow."

Making her way back to Star's side, Pony gave her a high five (or rather a high five to a horse neck) "That was bananas girl! Oh we have got to make that a regular move!"

Star's smile lasted a moment before remembering their other opponent "Where's Seth?"

"Oh don't worry; I took care of that old dingbat!" Pony assured her.

In a corner of the room, Seth was curled up into a fetal position, his book of slang was on fire beside him "No more slang…no more slang…" he was totally traumatized.

"Great! That just…leaves…" Star's excitement faded "Where are Marco and Kelly?!" her eyes searched the room in dread.

Inside the chamber, the sword fight raged on. With both blades colliding, it was only a matter of time until one would wear down. Marco rapidly kept pushing forward, giving Kelly a small opening. She grunted and kicked the dark sword out of his hands, fading into black smoke as it hit the floor.

Now without a weapon, Kelly spun her blade at Marco; he kept up with dodging until he was back to back with the wall. Bringing her blade down, Marco caught it with both his hands "You got skill, I'll give you that." From where he stopped the blade, glowing purple cracks spread across the sword's metal "But how about we do this without swords?"

Seconds later, the sword exploded with a burst of magic. Kelly fell backward, but was otherwise unharmed "Release!" she couldn't even take a second to breath as the tentacle grabbed her ankle and flung her back out of the entrance to the chamber.

Star and Pony reached the entrance just after Kelly landed, Star kneeling down to make sure she was alright. Inside Marco had returned the arm and cast his magic on the seal, allowing the floor to open up as the disc hovered above the ground, the image on the seal bearing a swirling galaxy.

Marco snatched it from the air, before turning around to the door "Get over here you two, we're done!" Mina and Seth groaned in return, not making an effort to move. Marco sighs and uses his magic to lift them up and yank them to his side.

"Wait!"

Marco stops, turning back to see Star slowly approaching him "Marco, please don't go. Come back with us!" she grips her hoodie tightly, her entire being pleading for him to listen.

He looks at her for a moment, giving rise to a glint of hope in the girl. Star reaches out a hand to him, but he turns back, opening a portal with the snap of his fingers "It's a pity we couldn't fight today, but one day soon, I'm going to crush that light of yours." He doesn't even look at her when he speaks. Dragging his cohorts behind him, the portal disappears.

Star stands still for a moment, letting it sink in before going back to her friends.

OXOXOXOX

"Ugh! We failed again!" Star face planted into her pillow. It had been a few hours since the battle; they got medical aid for the guards and Kelly who had twisted her ankle. Tom and Janna were waiting for them when they got back, the two brought giant cornshakes to cheer everyone up. The teens lay all over Star's room as they dejectedly drank their beverages.

"When did Earth Turd get to be so good at magic?" Pony wondered, sitting on a bean bag chair next to Tom who kept sipping his shake "Trust me; Marco is much stronger than he looks. I've seen him flip a horse." He added.

Kelly tossed her finished drink into the trash can "You didn't even fight him Pony; his spells are way more brutal than they look. He blew up my favorite sword!"

Beside the bed, Janna sat down with her fist on her cheek "Well that's great, how are we going to get through to him when he's trying to kill us?"

Star lifted her head out of the pillow, letting out a deep sigh "We keep trying." She moves off of her bed to stand in the middle of the room "The real Marco is still in there. Whatever this Ragnarok guy did to him, there is a way to fix it. I know there is." Star pulled the hoodie closer to her face, nuzzling it for comfort "We will get him back."

One by one, her friends came to her side, each one wrapping their arms around her for a group hug. Star grinned and pulled everyone closer, grateful for such good friends. A moment passed until Janna spoke up "We'll bring Marco home, he's our friend too. That being of pure destruction doesn't stand a chance against us: A magic princess, a demon prince of the underworld, a disembodied flying horse head, a walking bush of hair with a sword, and a girl who spends way too much of her time at the morgue."

"Yeah, this group is kind of weird." Star admitted with a giggle. From outside the window, a red light could be seen faintly flashing, Janna poked her head out of the group hug to look over "…and the moon. Apparently we got the moon on our side."


	25. Brother My Brother

**Sorry for the wait, I was mid-chapter when I had to stop and focus on a school paper.**

**Part 4 of 8 of the arc, halfway done!**

**I really want to upload some art I've done for the story, mainly character and outfit designs. Thing is, I draw all my art traditionally, I have no way to color it digitally except Microsoft Paint so I stick to colored pencils. Not to mention I don't have a scanner at the moment so the pics would have to be taken by my phone. In spite of that, would you still like me to upload it to Tumblr, Twitter and Deviantart?**

**Replying to SugarQueen97: Yeah, despite their portrayal in canon, I aimed to write Mina and Seth as Team Rocket like villains instead of major threats. Originally it was only going to be Mina working for Ragnarok, but when I started thinking about Seth I found potential comedy gold teaming them up against their will.**

* * *

"Alright, are we ready to commence the secret meeting?"

"Yes we are, but Star I have to ask you something?"

"What is it Kelly?"

"Why is our secret meeting being held in a breakfast restaurant?"

Star, Pony Head, Tom, Janna and Kelly currently sat at a booth table at EPOF (Earthni Place of Flapjacks) with several stacks of pancakes between them. Tom and Janna sat on one side across from Star and Kelly, Pony floating over a chair on the end.

"We've been meeting in my room every time before, plus theres pancakes!" Star lifted a forkful of syrup covered pancakes to make her point. Kelly shrugged and accepted her point, taking a bite out of her own pancakes as well.

"Flapjack's aside, do we have any idea where the next seal thingy is?" Janna poked at her breakfast with a fork, trying to ignore the loud slurping to her right as Tom endlessly sipped on his chocolate milk.

Star sighed sadly "Not a clue, I went to ask Alphonse and there was a sign on his boat that he was 'out fishing'" she used air quotes to illustrate her point.

"Bummer, I haven't even gotten to see what one of those look like." Janna sounded disappointed.

In between bites of breakfast, Pony grabbed her phone "Here, I took a selfie with that last one." She turned her phone around to show a photo of herself posing in front of the previous seal on the floor of the ruins. Star stared at it in disbelief "When did you take that?"

Upon seeing the picture, Tom began choking on his chocolate milk and let out a comically large spit take, spraying the beverage all over Kelly's breakfast "I've seen that before!"

Everyone stared at the demon in alarm as he grabbed the phone away from Pony Head "That symbol thing on the floor, there's one of those in the Lucitor ballroom!" he pointed to the seal in the photo "It has a different design on it, but it is definitely another seal!"

Janna sat up and fist bump "Aw yeah, we're going to the underworld!"

Star sat uncomfortably silent "I-I can't go with you." She felt a sympathetic hand fall on her shoulder, Star looked to see Kelly beside her "Star, I know it isn't easy, but you have to face Marco if we're ever going to bring him back home." "No I mean I literally can't go, I'm sort of banned from the Underworld at the moment." Star answered casually.

Remembering that Kelly was stuck in her dimension when it happened, Tom decided to clarify "OK, so you know how I broke up with Star right? Well before that there was this incident at my family's lakehouse and Star got my mom's blessing for us to be together. Unknown to me, she started getting ahead of herself and started making plans for our future. She was devastated when she heard we broke up, and even though I was the one that did it, she put all the blame on Star for the breakup."

Once Tom was finished, Star added in "So she said if I ever set foot in the underworld, that's where I'll be spending the rest of eternity."

"Don't worry about it Star, me and Tom are gonna take care of everything down there." Janna pulled Tom to her side; making him blush profusely "You should check in with the Diaz's today and make sure they're holding up."

Star got visibly sadder at the mention of Marco's family, while she did tell them that Marco had been kidnapped and they were searching for him, she couldn't bear to tell them he had been brainwashed into evil. Star had instead told them that Mina and Seth were always moving and that's why they couldn't find him yet, it could be why they couldn't find them but she couldn't be certain that was the reason.

"OK, but you two need to be really careful. Marco's magic is very strong and very dangerous; I don't want anyone else I care about getting hurt." Star warned the duo.

Janna rolled her eyes "Pssh, you got nothing to worry about. After all, I have a secret weapon." And with that, Tom and Janna rushed out of the restaurant, leaving the other three to finish breakfast in peace. Kelly watched them leave nervously "Yeah I think we should worry even more after that last sentence."

OXOXOXOX

Every morning seemed the same; Marco would wake up after a night of dreamless sleep, walk through the old castle corridors and come into the main room to find Mina and Seth at each other's throats. He truly questioned why those two were chosen over literally anyone else, they were just two empowered racist old people. Reportedly they had been threats long ago, but with the loss of their original power and strengths they had become more of a nuisance than a threat.

Taking a seat at a table, Marco used his magic to conjure up some dark colored cereal, eating spoonful after spoonful as his coworkers bickered in the background.

"Would you let me get a word in Loveberry?"

"Oh is someone speaking? Cuz all I hear is air!"

"You can't hear air!"

Figuring that he would get no peace until all was resolved, Marco turned from the table and approached the two elders "What's wrong today?" his tone of voice carried that he couldn't care less. Seth looked at him first "Answer truthfully, does pineapple belong on pizza or not?"

Marco stared in disbelief "Seriously?! Pineapple on pizza?! How stupid can you two be?!" he pushed them apart with his hands "We have been given a crucial mission by Lord Ragnarok to set him free from his prison, we still need two more seals and we have to deal with that other magic user and her allies. But all you two care about is arguing over the universe's most insignificant problems!"

Seth and Mina blinked at him "So does it go on pizza or not?" Mina asked.

Marco let his arms fall to the side and groaned in frustration, walking back to his breakfast "Hopeless, both of them are hopeless…"

Before he is able to sit back down, the door opens up and Ragnarok's orb comes in on a Roomba "When I asked if there was a way to move my sphere without relying on you three, I expected something with a little more…class." He moves himself beside Marco's leg; the boy picks him up and sets the orb on the table "Nonetheless, it is effective. On that note, what is the progress on the fourth seal?"

"At the moment, nothing." Marco motioned back to the other two facing away from one another as they pouted. Ragnarok's eye twitched as he saw his other minions behavior "Ugh, this is why we can't have nice things." He mumbles to himself "Mina! Seth! Will the two of you be serious for a single moment! There are two more seals to find and that list of yours still has another thirteen places you haven't searched yet. For evil's sake could you just try to get along for one day?"

"Fine." The two of them sulked as they walked over to the door. Before leaving Mina turned to Ragnarok and Marco "I cannot wait until this is over, it will be so nice when Mewmans won't ever have to be around monsters anymore!" she gave a not so subtle wink to her boss, earning a facepalm from Marco. Seth looked to them as well "Yes, the sooner we finish, the sooner I won't have to see a Mewman again." He gave a similar wink.

Once the two had left, it was just Marco and Ragnarok in the room "Do we really need to keep those two for much longer? I can handle this all on my own." Marco voiced his thoughts.

"Patience my dark one, it's easier to let those two do the dirty work. No sense wasting your energy on trivial matters." Ragnarok spoke to Marco, letting the boy hold his orb in his hands "Still, I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they find out what you're really planning." Marco grinned in anticipation, walking the two of them to the stain glass window in the back of the room.

Touching the glass, darkness spread from out of Marco's hand as it devoured the artwork "Those numbskulls actually believe you're on each of their side and planning to betray the other and kill off their species."

Ragnarok's eyes began to glowing even deeper red than usual "Well It's not a complete lie, I do plan to destroy their opposing species…along with everything else across the dimensions." He looked up to the boy holding him, Marco's own eyes glowing red in turn "My boy, you truly are the only one I can count on." Marco's face twisted into an evil grin "I live to serve you my lord."

OXOXOXOX

The tranquil sky/ceiling of the Underworld was shaken as a flaming figure burrowed down from the surface. The flames stopped in front of the castle, blowing away to reveal a very dizzy Tom and Janna "Did we have to take the fast way?" Janna leaned against a brimstone pillar to balance herself, Tom did the same "Yes, because it's the fast way!"

Regaining their balance, the duo walked through the front gates of the Lucitor castle, passing black obsidian columns and flaming torches as they continued into the throne room. Arriving inside, the pair was greeted by Tom's parents sitting atop their thrones.

"Well isn't this a rare occasion, your hardly ever in the throne room Tom." His father mused.

Tom rolled his eyes "Yeah, yeah, but I need to ask you-""Sup, I'm Janna!" the girl beside him interrupted, a cheeky smile on her face.

At the mention of her name, Tom's mother Wrathmelior squee'd and came over to greet her (So you're the Janna my little Tommy's been talking about! It's nice to finally meet you!) Wrathmelior spoke in her demon tongue. Unexpectedly, Janna nodded and send Tom a grin "Aw, you talk about me at home, how sweet."

"You-you understand demon language?!" Tom was floored; his mom was happily surprised "Yep, you really didn't think I'd borrow a dictionary from your room when you weren't around?" Janna shot back before going up to Wrathmelior and shaking her hand, well Janna's hand to her finger (I've never met a human that can speak the language, well considering your interest in the dark arts it doesn't surprise me.)

While his best friend and his mother were making small talk, King Dave approached his son and whispered to him "Now this girl seems like a keeper. Anyone that can learn demon tongue must be better company than the Butterfly princess." Tom flinched as his dads tone became more passive aggressive, Wrathmelior ceased talking to Janna and stood up slowly. When she turned in Tom's direction, there was an intense glare in her eyes (Honey, I thought we agreed never to speak of that heartbreaker ever again!) he tone was controlled yet obviously enraged.

Tom's father took a few, slow steps backwards, inching back to his throne as he left Tom's side. The queen remained silently fuming until a cough from Janna reminded her of the company in the room "Uh, so Tom didn't you have something to ask your parents?" she aimed to change the subject.

Remembering why they were here, Tom looked to his mom and dad "Right, right, so dad I came to ask you if I can borrow the royal ballroom for a bit?"

Dave looked surprised "Whatever for?"

"Well…Janna wants to learn some traditional Lucitor ballroom dances!" Tom slung his arm over Janna's shoulder "And hey, what better place to learn than in the Lucitor Ballroom!"

Staring at her friend in total confusion, Janna started to protest "Wha- that's not-"he placed a hand over her mouth, nervously smiling at his parents.

(Building monster trucks, summoning dead spirits, ballroom dancing, your friend has so many wonderful interests!) Wrathmelior gazed at the two affectionately. Removing the hand from her mouth, Janna actually looked surprised "Wow, you really do talk about me a lot." She was genuinely flattered.

(Of course he does, after all he has a big cru-) "OK WE ARE LEAVING NOW! THANKS FOR LETTING US USE THE BALLROOM, BYE!" Tom grabbed Janna's arm and pulled her out of the room as fast as he could, all the while trying to hide the immense blush on his face.

Once they were further down the hall, Tom let go and walked a few steps in front of Janna "What was that about?" Janna tilted her head in confusion.

"Nothing! It was absolutely nothing!" Tom quickly answered in a panic.

"Not about what your mom was gonna say, why did you tell them I wanted to learn dancing?" Janna sped up her pace so that she was directly next to Tom now. The demon avoided looking her in the eyes, instead preferring to watch the ground as they walked "Short answer, they can't know about this."

Janna raised her eyebrow "Alright, give me the long answer."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tom stopped in his tracks and turned his head to meet Janna's interrogating gaze "If we were up against anyone else, I would tell my parents right away. But we are fighting Marco, who in my mother's eyes is the reason I'm not with Star anymore. My mom's wrath extends to him too."

"Ah, that explains why you always shove him into some hiding spot whenever the two of you are hanging out and she comes in." The memory of Marco being shoved into a tiny drawer never ceased to make her laugh. Tom stared in bewilderment "How do you even know about that?" "I'm Janna, I see all…and I hid a camera in your Christmas present."

Tom wasn't even surprised "Yeah should have seen that coming. Back on track, if my parents knew it was Marco trying to steal the seal, they would not hesitate to use lethal force." Peering over his shoulder, Tom locked eyes with a nearby portrait of his mother "Demons always tell our mothers everything, if my mom knew I've been hiding things from her…" he couldn't find it in him to finish that sentence.

"Dude, it's gonna be ok." Janna reassured him, leaning her elbow on his shoulder "Between your demon powers and my secret weapon, we'll have them out of here and take Marco back with us in no time at all."

Janna expected Tom to agree with her, to just give her a nod that he was on the same page as she was, but all he did was stare at her in concern "Tom?" "Janna, what is your secret weapon?" giving a devious grin, Janna poked her finger into Tom's chest "If I told you then it wouldn't be a secret now would it?"

Holding her wrist, Tom pushed her hand away and gave her a serious look "Look, you have to tell me what it is before we go in there. Do you have like, some secret voodoo magic? A powerful weapon? I need to know that you can defend yourself."

At those last few words, Janna scowled at Tom "Hey, I can defend myself just fine!" she pulled her arms away and crossed them in front of her chest. Tom wasn't convinced at all "Janna, from all that Star has told me about Marco's current state, he is a serious threat. You don't have powers or a weapon or training of any kind to fight him. I can't fight Marco if I'm too busy protecting you!"

"Protecting me?! I'm not some princess in a tower that needs rescuing; I can handle things on my own!" Janna pushed Tom out of her way and angrily stomped off in the direction of the ballroom. Tom growled and let some flames shoot from his horns, struggling to keep his flames from engulfing his body as it shook in anger. He silently walked behind Janna, not saying a word to her as they approached their destination.

OXOXOXOX

It was hard to miss the seal in the ballroom; it covered most of the dance floor. Tom and Janna stood in the center of the floor, over an ominous eye that was surrounded by a sun shape. On the ceiling above them, stood the blood moon crystal inside the hand that had chosen Star and Marco at the Blood Moon Ball.

"I can see why it was hidden here; it blends in with the décor." Janna spoke aloud. Tom ignored her as he moved down to the ground "Alright, let's crack this baby up!" he flexed his arms to an unamused Janna. Digging his nails into the ground, Tom was set ablaze as he attempted to lift the floor.

"This…this is really heavy!" Tom choked out.

"What did you expect?! It's a giant stone floor!" Janna reminded him. The demon continued pulling, even shifting into his most demonic state to raise the ground. Regardless of how hard he tried, the floor failed to budge.

Dropping his form, Tom fell back on his butt and took deep breaths "That (Gasp) is one stubborn floor!" in return, Janna rolled her eyes "There has to be a switch or something around here." She had only begun walking a few steps when she noticed something amiss.

"Uh, Tom? I think we got company."

The demon boy lifted his head up to see a portal beginning to form, one that swirled with purple-black energy. Rising to his feet, Tom stood ready for anything to come out. Seconds later, one aged lizard head poked through "Please be a seal, please be a seal." He chanted under his breath. Laying eyes on the scene before him, he found himself staring at two confused teenagers "Uh…" Seth couldn't think of any other way to respond, just letting the one syllable hang awkwardly for a few seconds.

Shoving her way through the portal, Mina stepped out as Seth tumbled to the ground "You know, an 'excuse me' would be nice every once in a while." He grumbled. Lifting himself up, Seth took note of the floor and grinned "Finally, a seal!" he poked his head back through the portal, saying something on the other end that Tom and Janna couldn't make out.

Taking his head out of the vortex, Seth stepped aside as Marco emerged and closed the portal behind him "Took you long enough." "I'd like to see you do bet-"a glare from Marco shut Seth up quickly, the lizard backing away as he let the boy handle the rest.

Seeing their good friend again, Tom and Janna felt conflicted. Being told what happened to Marco was hard, but actually seeing him made their blood run cold "Marco..." Janna stared in awe "That outfit actually makes you look hot!" she blurted out; her demon companion gave her a look of disbelief.

"Flattery will get you nowhere girl." Marco brushed off her comment "I'm here for the seal."

Before Tom could do anything, Janna walked past him and right up to Marco "Well, looks like it's time to break out the secret weapon." She cracked her knuckles in preparation. Both sides waited in tense silence, Marco prepared magic in his fist as he prepared for anything.

"Chicken Butt."

Janna snapped her fingers with a smug grin. She waited a moment for Marco to fall unconscious…but he never did "Huh?" she snapped her fingers a few more times, repeating the trigger each time. Tom facepalmed in embarrassment, Mina and Seth stared in utter confusion, Marco simply rose an eyebrow at her "Just what are you trying to do?"

Janna grunted in frustration, snapping her fingers nonstop "Chicken Butt, Chicken Butt, Chicken Butt-why isn't this working?! Don't you feel anything at all?!"

"I'm feeling a little tired, but mostly I'm feeling ticked off." Marco answered "But this does give me an idea." He shot out a beam of magic right at Janna, who was pushed back several feet "Janna!" Tom cried out. Gathering more dark magic into his hands, Marco formed it into a large shape "Muerto de Pollo!" the magic solidified into a sixteen foot tall evil chicken made of darkness, which proceeded to let out a deep clucking noise that shook the air.

Staring up at the evil chicken, Janna just shook her head "Why is it always giant birds?"

Pointing to the human girl, Marco commanded the chicken "You, deal with this girl. Mina, Seth, go with it." The Solarian and Septarian grinned as they rushed to mount the creature "I'm calling you Sebastian 2 chicken boogaloo!" Mina affectionately petted the top of the chicken's head.

The chicken turned its attention to Janna and let out a threatening cluck "Yeah, I should probably start running." Janna noted. The dark chicken slammed its beak into where Janna had been mere moments ago, the girl having jumped to her feet not a second to soon "I've got this, you take Dark Marco!" Janna called to Tom as she sprinted out of the ballroom, drawing the chicken's attention as it followed her away.

Now on his own, Tom was left standing across the room from the boy he knew as his best friend, who sadly did not see him the same "So, you're the only defense against this seal? What can you do?" Marco taunted. Wordlessly, Tom conjured a wall of flames behind him, letting lost souls entangle themselves in the flames as he showed his power. There were many who would fear this display of demonic prowess, Marco however felt excited "Finally, someone who can give me a challenge."

Tom ceased his power as he directed the flames to his hands "Yeah? Well come and get me."

The two rushed at each other with magic and demonic fire surrounding their bodies, their powers clashing against each other as they traded blows. Punch after punch, blast after blast, and the two matched moves and kept on going as they tossed each other around the ballroom. Marco released his monster arm spell and lashed at Tom, who caught the appendage in his hand and proceeded to burn it with his flames, getting a pained noise from Marco in turn. The corrupted boy recalled his spell and rubbed his singed arm, causing Tom to drop his guard for a moment, only to be blindsided by a flurry of shadow shurikens. Tom sent up a flaming barrier as the spell disintegrated against the heat, then pushed it outwards in a massive fire blast.

Barely shielding himself from the fiery inferno, Marco grinned wickedly "Glad to finally meet someone that can give me a proper fight." He held a ball of pure darkness in his hands before shoving it at Tom, the blow hitting him right in the cheek "Agh!" he touched his hand to his face, cauterizing the wound with his flames. Marco flipped in the air and aimed a powerful kick to Tom, who caught his leg and swung him in circles before letting him go.

The way Marco fell to the ground, the room they were in; it hit Tom with a sense of nostalgia. The demon bitterly chuckled to himself, causing Marco to stare at him "You know, this whole thing is really ironic." Tom gave a pained smile "When I first met you, I hated your guts. I wanted nothing more than to destroy you for taking Star's attention. This very same room, two years ago I shoved you across the dancefloor just like that. But now…" he felt tears stinging his eyes, he thought back to keep them inside "Now you're my best friend. After everything I did to you, you forgave me and buried the hatchet. But the tides have turned, your trying to kill me exactly where I tried to kill you." He let one tear leak from his eye "This is a real reversal huh Marco?"

Marco stood blankly, trying to make sense of what the demon was saying "I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never seen you before in my life!" he readied more magic into his hands "And soon, I'll be the last thing you ever see."

Unleashing a huge beam of energy, Tom shot out flames that pushed against it, the two exploded on contact as smoke filled the room. Marco coughed before performing a wind spell, clearing the smoke to find Tom nowhere in sight "Where…" black chains burst out behind him, pinning his arms to the side and rendering him unable to move.

Squirming around, Marco caught Tom behind him, holding the ends of the chains "This ends here Marco! Stop now before you hurt more people!" "Like you?" Marco smirked, pointing his finger at the demon as best as he could "Lightning Javelin!" a massive burst of electricity shot from his finger and made a direct hit with Tom.

The demon crouched over in pain, dropping the chains and letting Marco free. Working through the pain, Tom approached Marco again "I don't care what you do to me! I am taking you back and protecting this seal!"

A scream from outside caught the attention of the two.

Part of the upper wall burst open, with Mina, Seth, and the chicken peering through. The chicken held a squirming figure in its grasp "Janna!" Tom cried in alarm. Seeing an opportunity, Marco turned to his creation "Drop her in the lava!"

"What?!" Tom gasped; the chicken obeyed without question and flapped its tiny, but somehow functional wings and carried the human girl above the boiling lava. Tom turned to Marco in a panic "You wouldn't!" Marco just snapped his fingers, and the chicken dropped Janna.

The second it happened, Tom flew faster than he had ever gone before, soaring right through the hole in the roof and over to his falling friend. Janna couldn't help but scream; even she couldn't survive being covered in lava. She braced herself for impact, but felt a pair of arms instead of a molten death.

"Wha-Tom!?" she took a glance at her savior, Tom looking back to her with a look of relief "I got ya!" she swung her arms around his neck as he flew them back into the ballroom, just in time to see Marco finish opening the seal with his magic and grabbing the disc decorated with a pair of scissors. The boy opened a portal and quickly ushered Mina and Seth inside, going in after as the portal closed.

Landing besides the hole on the floor, the two could no nothing but stare, Janna hung her head in disappointment and Tom punched the wall, gritting his teeth. Neither thinking it could get any worse…

(What is going on here!?) The voice of the queen echoed through the room. Tom and Janna peered up to see Wrathmelior looking in through the hole in the wall.

OXOXOXOX

Tom and Janna stood back in the Lucitor throne room, with the former's parents trying to wrap their heads around the situation "So that Marco boy, came into the underworld and stole something hiding in the ballroom floor so he could unleash some great horror?!" Dave summed up what he had been told. His wife slammed her fist against her throne (I knew that boy was trouble! I should have slain him when I had the chance!)

"No! It's not his fault, he's been brainwashed into doing this!" Tom reasoned with his mother "This is exactly the reaction I was afraid of." He muttered under his breath.

(Tommy, why didn't you tell me about all this?) Wrathmelior was genuinely hurt that her son had kept a secret from her. Her son ran his hands through his hair in frustration "I didn't tell you because you would have killed him!" He glared directly into his mother's eyes "Marco is my best friend-" "Hey!" "Present company excluded." He rolled his eyes to Janna "We want to save him and bring him back to his senses, but all you care about is getting revenge for something that was my own choice! Me and Star were never meant for each other, can you please just accept that and forgive them already!?"

No one said a word; neither of his parents was willing to say anything in return. Hurt at their silence, Tom turned his back to them, leaving the castle with Janna by his side.

Not having the strength to burrow to the surface, Tom and Janna took the long way back through the Underworld. The silence continued for miles, until Janna finally broke the quiet "Hey, thanks for saving me back there." She walked behind him, unable to see his face "You were right, I did need someone to protect me…"

Tom started to turn around "Janna…"

"I hate it." Janna clenched her fists "I hate being so useless in a fight! All I do is drag the rest of you down! You could have stopped him if I had been able to fight that giant chicken on my own!"

"Hey, look at me." Tom calmly said, brushing his hand against Janna's cheek as he nudged her to look at him. Tom gave her the most heartfelt gaze as he spoke "I'm sorry for earlier too. I didn't mean to set you off, I just…if anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself."

Janna listened in shock; a blush spreading on her face "Tom…" her brain couldn't come up with a response. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, her face felt hot, she always made others flustered but until now hadn't felt it herself. She snorted and pushed him away, trying not to show her reddened face "Wow, you sound like Marco right now!"

Mentioning their friend's name, they both fell somber again "What now? We had one job and we failed at it." Janna asked.

"There's still one more seal, we have to get this one…and we'll get him back too." The demon answered, staring at the underworld sky lost in thought. They still had a chance, and they would not waste it.


	26. Time is Runnin' Out

**Merpy Birthmas Star! As a belated Stump-Day/Christmas gift, here is the latest chapter!**

* * *

One more left…

There was only one more seal to find before Ragnarok is freed. One last chance to prevent a disaster and rescue Marco, failure was not an option. It had been a day since the fight in the Underworld, since then there has been nothing but radio silence on leads. The squad waited it out by doing some combat practice near the hill of flags. The day had passed and the sun had set without anything happening.

"I think that about covers the basics, ready to spar for real?" Kelly asked to the girl in front of her. Before her, Janna held a wooden sword in her hands, looking as determined as ever "Hit me with your best shot Kells!"

The girls took their stances on the field; Kelly swapped her giant sword for one more like Janna's before they began. Tom stepped in the middle of them with a handkerchief "Ready, set, fight!" he dropped the handkerchief and got out of the way. Janna dashed at Kelly and ferociously swung her sword at the Woollett, to her dismay Kelly blocked it all "Janna, focus! Your swings are too sloppy to do any real damage!"

Stepping back, Janna thrust out the sword many times, Kelly stepped back and knocked the sword from her hand in one hit "What did I say about technique?! You'll never win in a fight if you only focus on stabbing someone!"

"Aw, but stabbing's the fun part!" Janna huffed.

Kelly shook her head in disappointment "Sword fighting is more than just hitting people, it takes a lot of work and you have to focus on defense as much as offense." She grabbed Janna's wooden sword from the dirt. She tried to hand it back to the girl, but Janna made no move to grab it "You know, I think I'm done." She pushed the blade back to her friend "What?! You can't give up that easily!" Kelly protested.

Taking a seat next to Tom, Janna laid back against the grass with a dejected sigh "Sword fighting just isn't my thing, it's yours. Thanks for trying to teach me self-defense but I don't think this is for me." as much as Janna hated feeling powerless, she just couldn't get invested in the learning that came with wielding a weapon.

Tom glanced at her from over his shoulder "You could always try another weapon?" Janna frowned at his suggestion "We don't have the time for me to master any kind of weapon! Our next fight could be at any time, I'll just get in the way again." She rolled over so her face was mushed against the grass "You guys are the ones who can fight, call me if you need surveillance cameras or tracking chips."

Kelly turned around and called to another of her friends a few feet away "Star, can you please tell Janna that-oh." Laying eyes on the blonde mewman, she saw her absentmindedly playing with the strings on the hoodie she wore, a longing gaze in her eyes as she felt the cotton between her fingers. Kelly approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder "You're not gonna slap me again, are you?" Star looked up at the woollett "Nah, you seem to have yourself pulled together at the moment."

Star smiled "As best as I can for now…but…" her smile fell once more as she pulled the hood over her head "I feel so lost about all of this. I have magic again, but only light magic, Marco has dark magic and we still can't get through to him, on top of that I'm trying to prevent some spirit from being released that I know nothing about! I just…I need some answers…"

Kelly was about to open her mouth to speak, when out of nowhere a red glow appeared in the sky. The once white moon had become red as the teens glanced up at it, Pony was snoring loudly on her own until the light woke her up "Whazzat-huh?" now that the Blood Moon had all of their attention, it proceeded to flash rapidly.

"Uh I think the moon is broken?" Tom watched the light in confusion as the girls stood beside him. Pulling the hood off of her head, Star recalled what Alphonse mentioned "The Blood Moon communicates in morse code, without Alphonse to translate I have no idea what it's trying to say."

"Really! Well that is super helpful actually!" Pony responded to the flashes, earning a bewildered stare from her friends "Uh, why y'all staring at me?"

"Pony Head, you know morse code?!" Star did a double take at the floating equestrian head, who nodded in confirmation "Heck yeah girl! I know every language, that way I always know when people are talking about me!"

"Well don't just float there, translate!" Janna impatiently reminded her.

"Oh right! So BM here says it has an idea where the final seal could be!" Pony translated the crimson flashes, earning hopeful glances from the others "Where?!" Star demanded to the moon. It flashed some more, making Pony's eyes widen "Seriously?! There!?"

"Pony Head!" the other four groaned in unison, reminding her that they needed her translation "Oh right, right! The Blood Moon said it might be at St. O's!"

"What? Why would it be there?!" Star tried to think of any connection to the place with the commission, other than it being where they took Meteora she couldn't think of anything.

"So like apparently before it was turned into a school, it belonged to some guy named…Reynaldo-ooh! That's the name in front of the library there! We just roped that place off when we gave that place a makeover!" Pony translated the next few flashes, before remembering what she saw during her time there.

"Who's Reynaldo?" Tom wondered aloud, looking to Star for an explanation. The Mewman wracked her brain "I think that was the name of the fifth guy on the Magic Commission. He retired after one of my grannies accidentally cursed him to always speak in rhyme, I never met the guy…although…" Star remembered the first time they went to St. Olga's, while she and Marco were running from the guards they passed through an odd chamber "I think I've passed the seal before."

Clapping her hands together, Star gathered everyone's attention "Back your bags people, it looks like we're going back to school!"

OXOXOXOX

Coming out of a portal, Star and her friends arrived at the vicinity of the school that once brought horrors untold to the blonde princess. The Blood Moon flickered back in as the others approached the opened gate, the other side looked like a ghost town. Missing were the rowdy princesses that had assumed control of the school, the robot's that once guarded the place laid scattered on the ground, deactivated and covered in dust.

"I thought this place was party city? Where'd the party go?" Janna nudged a robot out of her path.

"When the magic was destroyed, it took everyone back to their own dimensions." Star thought back to what she did half a year ago "Me and Marco are the only ones able to open portals right now, guess that means the place is abandoned."

"Oh, sweet!" Janna knelt down and started rummaging through the guard's carcass "Then it's totally cool if I take a few doohickeys from these guys!" she held up a knot of colorful wires and bolts.

The group reached the front door and was about to head inside, but a red flash caught their attention "Oh, Blood Moon!" Star turned to the space rock apologetically "Thanks for all your help, but you kind of…can't go inside buildings…cause you're a moon…"

The Blood Moon seemed to take offense to that and flashed back, Star pondered on what to do before coming up with an idea "I got it! Since she understands you, Pony Head can stay out here to keep you company!"

The Blood Moon frantically flashed, opposed to the idea, but none paid attention "Sure thing B-Fly! Less work for me to do!" the floating head went on up to a spot on the roof as everyone else went inside. The Blood Moon flashed for them all to come back to no avail, left alone outside with the self-absorbed princess in the cold of night "Alright, so hey, Star says your like some ancient spirit or whatever? You probably don't have a phone or something so you've never seen my hit show, The Pony Head Show! As a favor, I will recap the whole series up to-why are you flashing 'SOS'?!"

OXOXOXOX

Inside the school, it was covered in pitch black darkness. Kelly felt around the wall for a light switch, having no luck whatsoever "Anyone got a flashlight?" "Nope, but I got demon fire." Tom held a flame in his hand and lit the dark entry hall before the quartet; empty pizza boxes littered the ground and confetti stuck to the wall with dried syrup "Guess it was the janitors night off." Tom snarked.

Star went around and poked her head into different doorways, looking unsure about each one "Yo Star, which way was that room?!" Janna called from across the hall. Star came back over near her friends and sighed "I have no idea! We were in such a hurry to escape the guards, I didn't even pay attention to where we were heading!" her eyes searched the room and landed on a random hallway "We're just going to have to get lucky and find it on our own." She motioned for her friends to follow as she trekked down the darkened hallway "I bet we'll find it in no time!

20 Minutes Later…

By the eighth corridor, the group was losing morale "Can't this stupid place have a directory?!" Star cried in frustration "I think we've already walked through this hall!"

"No, you're thinking of the hallway left of the Turdina wing. It looks just like this one, but the graffiti on the wall says 'No Rulez, Heinous Droolz' instead of 'No Rulez, Extra Bacon'." Tom pointed out.

Star gripped her hair in her hands "I don't care! Every hall in this whole stinking place looks exactly the same! We could be walking in circles for hours and not run into any-"Star stopped as her face collided with a door.

"Star look out, your about to hit a door." Janna warned her a little too late. The blonde rubbed her nose to sooth the stinging pain "Thanks Janna." She spoke sarcastically. Peaking up, she noticed the sign above the door "Reynaldo's Library-Oh! We finally found something!" Star perked up "There has to be a map of this place in the library!" she rushed inside the large wooden doors, the other three followed close behind.

While not as large as the study in the Monster Temple, the room held no shortage of books. Rows and rows of bookshelves spanned across the entire room, a small pedestal for reading sat against the far left wall "If I were a map, where would I be?" Star wondered aloud as she scanned the nearby wall. Tom, Janna and Kelly spread out to search the rest of the room, Tom put out his flame and let the room turn black "Tom!" all the girls shouted.

"How am I supposed to search without burning the books?!" he shouted back.

"How are we supposed to search without any light?!" Kelly shot back.

Holding her hands firmly together, Star concentrated as she cast a spell "Firefly Bella Glow!" she released dozens of tiny fireflies into the room, they floated above the shelves and lit the room like a bunch of lightbulbs.

Admiring her handiwork, Star gave herself a pat on the shoulder before skimming through the books on the shelf "Nope, nope, nope, nope…" she muttered as she read each title.

Going through the aisles, Tom found a large pile of books on the floor in the middle of the children's section "Why does this place even have a children's section?" he thought aloud as he knelt down to pick up some books, reading their titles as he placed them back inside the bookshelf "Baby's FirstStump Day, The little Corn Farmer that could, Queen Galaxina and the defeat of Ragnarok, The Flying Pig-Goat-"he stopped. He grabbed the book he had moments ago put back on the shelf and stared at it in disbelief "Uh, guys…I think I found something!"

Everyone dropped what they were doing and gathered around the pedestal, Tom laid out the book he found "Queen Galaxina and the defeat of Ragnarok…look at the front!" he pointed to the cover, the title decorated with the same images as the floor's hiding the seals.

"This is it! This is what we need!" Star grabbed the book, awestruck to finally find something useful. Janna rose an eyebrow "So the ancient information we've been looking for…was in a children's book?"

"Don't look a gift warnicorn in the mouth Janna!" Star slammed the book onto the surface and opened it up "Ooh, it's a pop-up book!" she marveled at the drawings that sprung from the page. Clearing her throat, Star began to read "Each Queen of Mewni has her own story, a beginning, middle and an end. For Queen Galaxina the Clairvoyant, the sixth in the Butterfly line, this is how her story ended…"

OXOXOXOX

Far away in Mewni's distant past, a young queen rode on the back of a warnicorn, galloping across the land as fast as it could move. The queen in question wore a suit of armor hidden beneath a purple colored cloak, a periwinkle colored crystal ball hung from a chain around her neck. Her eyes blazed a mysterious purple, contrasting to her blueberry colored hair cut to just below her chin. Jewel shaped cheek emblems colored like her crystal ball glowed against the dark of night.

Slowing her warnicorn to a stop, Galaxina looked ahead with a forlorn gaze "Your majesty!" she turned to the sound of her name, a flaming portal came from behind as five figures emerged from it "Why did you not wait for the portal to open? It is much faster than riding on your steed." The floating skull pointed out.

"Well, you may be right Omnitraxus, but I would much rather have one last ride on my wonderful companion." Galaxina dismounted and gently caressed the horse's face "Is Glossaryck with my daughter?"

"BAAAH!" Lekmet nodded affirmatively, Galaxina smiled in return "Good, she will need his guidance after tonight." Her features fell in sorrow. The giraffe-like being known as Reynaldo approached her and put a hoof to her shoulder "It is not too late, we can handle this without you."

"I appreciate your concern, but you will need my magic if we are going to win…I've already told you the alternative outcome." She reminded the commission. Rhombulus rolled his eye "Yeah yeah, the universe gets destroyed. But just because you predicted it doesn't mean it will come true! You said Glossaryck was gonna turn my arms into snakes but look-"he held up normal looking arms "No snakes!"

"Give it time." The queen responded. Rhombulus went back to pouting and looked to the girl beside him "You know, this whole thing is your fault new girl!" "I have a name, it's Hekapoo!" she poked his chest "Give me a break will ya, I was just born last week! How could I have known portal creation would give this nutcase such a terrible idea?"

"What's done is done, we cannot change the past…" Galaxina turned and walked forward "But we can change our future…"

Following their queen, the commission made their way to the top of the pitch black spire erupting from the earth. The spire looked like a nail, a swirling path to a large flat top that seemed to overlook all of Mewni. Opening a portal, Hekapoo led the six of them through a shortcut to the top, emerging to face their enemy standing in the center of the area.

"If it isn't the Magic High Commission and the Queen of Mewni, what brings you to my presence?"

"Ragnarok…" the queen glared at the person before her. Standing around 7 foot tall was the spirit of destruction in the spirit-flesh. Although his features were mostly covered by a black cloak, his grey claws and long sharp horns were exposed to the outside. His eyes held a menacing red glow from under his hood, a Mewman-like face could be faintly seen beneath.

"You know why we're here. Stop this madness at once!" Galaxina ordered.

Ragnarok let out a loud laugh, lasting for a good thirty seconds before he saw the serious expressions on all their faces "Oh, oh you're serious? Well that's unfortunate." He walked out from the center, looking to the sky above as countless portals covered the air, a new one popping up every few seconds it seemed "I am too far along to be stopped now."

Reynaldo moved in front of his brethren "This ends right now! If you surrender posthaste, then maybe your punishment will be slightly less than eternity."

"You think you are all above me, beings created by simple magic to symbolize something to the people of this dimension. I am a spirit, an embodiment of a concept itself. This is where the problem lies." Ragnarok gazed into the portal filled sky "This universe has become…chaotic. You claim to keep order, yet you only sow more chaos into reality. You manipulate space-time, allow dimensions access to others, and see yourselves as higher beings than spiritual beings. Well that portal creation that you've introduced to the multiverse will be its downfall. This universe needs to be cleansed of the chaos you've brought to it, but it is not feasible for me to destroy dimensions one at a time. But if every dimension was connected all at once, my full power will reach the entire multiverse in an instant. Bringing true order to this ruined reality."

"How is killing everyone and destroying everything order?!" Hekapoo countered.

"You mortals do not understand, in the calm of nothingness there is serenity. I was going to wait to destroy you with the rest of the universe, but I suppose you'll all be a nice warm up." Ragnarok took a single step forward; the whole commission took several steps back. Galaxina glanced between her comrades "Just a reminder, if he touches you then you'll be turned to dust in an instant."

"Baah!" Lekmet cried out, the last thing he wanted was to be reduced to dust.

"Don't worry, I got this handled!" Rhombulus stepped forward. He took his hands to his head and shot out a crystallizing beam at Ragnarok, instantly crystallizing him "This dude is all talk, there's no way he's getting out of-" the crystal prison turned black and shattered, leaving Ragnarok more angry than he was before. Rhombulus tucked his head in shame "Aww."

"That was your last mistake!" Ragnarok growled, he raised a claw and sent it into the floor, sending a crack of his power rippling towards the commission "Move!" Omnitraxus pushed the group away, barely dodging the attack. As she regained her footing, Galaxina held up her crystal ball, it glowed with magical power as she aimed it at Ragnarok "Amethyst Sphere!" a purple circle of magic surrounded itself around Ragnarok, momentarily trapping him.

Reynaldo reached into his toga and grabbed several golden discs, he threw them at the binded spirit and they exploded on impact, singing his robe but barely doing any real damage. Rhombulus jumped up from behind and shot more crystals at Ragnarok, who breathed some black mist from his mouth and melted them before they could get close.

Hekapoo multiplied herself into several clones, each armed with giant scissors as they rushed at Ragnarok. The original stood behind Omnitraxus as her clones each gave one attack to the spirit before crumbling to ash in his touch "How are we supposed to kill him if we can't touch him?" she asked the floating skull "We can't." he was at the worst disadvantage, not able to fight without physically hitting the guy.

As Ragnarok escaped from the Queen's spell, she prepared several more "Labradorite Meteor Shower!" she sent a wave of blue stars at him "Lapis Lazuli Spiral Storm!" An indigo tornado with golden specks shot out "Tanzanite Shining Wave!" a blue-purple wall of magic pushed forward. Ragnarok took some damage from each, but kept moving towards the queen regardless "You truly believe I can be taken down by some puny magic spells?" Galaxina walked backwards as he crept closer "There is no way to kill me, all you can do is delay the inevitable."

Galaxina glared defiantly "I'm not trying to kill you; I just need you to get into position."

Took by surprise for once, Ragnarok noticed each of the High Commission floating in a circle above him. The ground underneath him shined as countless runes appeared in an instant "What is this?!"

Closing her eyes, the Queen took a deep breath "Power beyond our comprehension, vacate this realm and be held in suspension." The runes changed and shot up around Ragnarok, creating a cage of light. He reached out to break it, but found the light repelled him "How?!"

Galaxina nodded to the other five, who nodded in return. Each held out their hands and released beams of pure magical energy at their prisoner, Ragnarok screamed in pain as his body glowed white, the insignia of each commission member circled around his body "In exchange for sealing a being of such evil and vice, I give my life as an equal sacrifice!" Galaxina shouted as the spell finished. Where Ragnarok stood a massive magic beam took his place, shooting into a large hole in the fabric of reality, unlike the portals below, this tear consisted of a massive door. Once Ragnarok was inside, the doors shut tightly and disappeared from existence.

The portals that filled the sky closed all at once, the spire crumbling to nothing as well. The Commission descended to the earth below, Reynaldo grabbing the queen as they fell. Away from the remains of the tower, the queen was laid against a rock, her body was pale and his breathing shallow "It worked my queen, that menace will never be free again." Reynaldo reassured the dying queen.

Galaxina gasped as her eyes turned white, her crystal ball lit up with her. It lasted for a brief moment, but when her eyes turned back to normal, she gave them a grim look "No, this won't last forever. This prison will break one day!"

"That's impossible!" Omnitraxus denied her words "As long as the commission lives that prison is sealed shut!"

Lekmet bleated loudly, Rhombulus nodded in agreement "Yeah, even without us he would need a massive energy source to break free!"

"Well make a failsafe! A way to keep it closed without magic!" Galaxina pleaded, her body shook as she laid her head back down "Give my daughter the wand, it is her responsibility now." She passed her crystal ball to Hekapoo, who made it float instead of directly holding it.

"I've had one final premonition, heed it well." Galaxina conjured five cards with her magic; each one matched the engravings on the seals "If one day magic should become lost, Ragnarok will seek to take his vengeance at any cost. Magic will be sealed inside two hosts, the brightest star and the darkened sun that are compatible the most. Though they live in harmony it will be disrupted, for Ragnarok will have one of the two abducted. The power of darkness is overwhelming unlike its counterpart, trapped within evils grasp separated from its heart. Light and darkness may fight and clash, but if united under the moonlights shield, evil shall turn to ash." Once the words had left her mouth, Queen Galaxina closed her eyes and let her body go limp.

Each member hung their heads down, silently mourning the lost queen; Rhombulus lifted his head first "Are we really going to make a failsafe? I still don't think that vision of hers will come true." The other four glared daggers at the crystalline cyclops.

As Hekapoo opened a portal back to the castle, Omnitraxus scooped up the body and they prepared to walk through…

OXOXOXOX

"We honored the Queen's final request and created five seals to act as a magicless barrier. We hid each under a mural depicting one of the tarot cards she presented us with. As her daughter Queen Cosmo the Phantom Thief prepares to have a child of her own, I wonder how far into the future did Queen Galaxina see? If ever there is a time that all of us are gone, I pray the two with light and darkness will succeed in protecting the universe from that spirit. The End." Tom closed the book as he read the final words, at some point during the flashback he took over reading it for Star.

"What demographic was this book aimed at?" Janna questioned aloud.

As the words in the book sunk in for the group, they all cast their gazes towards Star. The blonde stood off in the corner, hugging the hoodie across her chest "Star?" Tom called out.

"It's inside of me…" she mumbled.

"Come again?" Tom tilted his head to the side, not understanding what his friend meant.

Turning around to face her friends, Star tried not to freak out as she put the pieces together "Magic will be sealed inside two hosts, Ragnarok taking Marco away and the darkness taking over him, everything in her vision is happening! The brightest star and darkened sun, it's me and Marco! The magic is sealed inside of us!"

"But how?!" Kelly asked as Star began to pace around "It was when the magic realm was collapsing! Me and Marco wished to be together no matter what and-and our cheek marks lit up as the realm was destroyed! The magic hid itself inside of us, it makes perfect sense, why I can only use light magic and Marco can only use dark magic! We are compatible with it the most, I already brought the real of magic back to life once and got a golden Butterfly form that was all light! Marco-he-he had the monster arm all this time, he was affected by Eclipsa's chapter, he was stabbed by a unicorn made of the darkest spell and it didn't kill him! We were the perfect vessels for light and dark magic and it's all my fault!" Star conjured a rainbow fist punch and hit it into the wall, screaming in frustration.

The punch shook the entire building, her scream echoed through the halls. Star fell to her knees and let tears fall into her palms "All the times he was exposed to dark magic, all of them were because of me. If it weren't for me…then Marco wouldn't be in this mess."

Tom, Janna and Kelly knelt beside her, each one placing a hand in hers "Star, there was no way of knowing any of this would happen. It was the price to pay for stopping the Solarian's." Tom reminded her, Kelly nodded "If you two didn't go through that, I don't think your worlds would have cleaved together." "Not to mention, that stab wound would have killed him if he didn't have dark magic already inside of him." Janna added.

Star lifted her head to face her friends; Janna gave her a serious glance "Just because bad things happen, doesn't mean good things can't happen because of it. You read the words in the book, if light and dark team up they can kick Ragnarok's butt! That proves there is a way to bring Marco back to his senses, the two of you can fix all of this." The three of them pulled Star back to her feet "Let's nab that seal and get our dork back!"

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Star nodded in agreement "Yeah, let's!"

An idea crossed Kelly's mind "Hey, instead of finding a map, couldn't you just make a locating spell?"

Star stood in shock, her face blank of any emotion, Tom and Janna wore similar expressions "Kelly, where was this idea thirty minutes ago!" Star groaned, kicking herself for not thinking of that sooner.

"Hey, at least we got a learning experience from this!" Tom tried to think of the bright side, his awkward smile was not as reassuring as he had hoped. Star pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a moment to let out her stress "Search and Find Seeker Bat!" she poofed a fuzzy, purple bat into existence. The bat let out a sonic wave from its mouth as it flew around in circles before settling on a direction. The quartet followed the bat as it led them out of the library and down the halls.

Many twists and turns later, the bat came to a stop in front of a room. Walking inside, Star recognized it as the one she and Marco ran through once before. Strange beasts decorated the ceiling with the floor depicting a star, sun and moon "This is it! Thanks Walter!" she gave the bat a scratch behind the ear "Anytime Star!" the bat bowed before poofing away.

As her friends stood behind her, Star took a deep breath and began casting her magic, sending it into the floor to open the seal "Uh oh, we have company!" Kelly alerted the princess, pointing to a portal forming on the other side of the room "Shoot! Janna, go get Pony Head then hide somewhere safe!" Star ordered, Janna saluted her as she left the room.

The portal widened as Marco and Ragnarok's lackeys entered the room, notably Marco is dragging Mina by her pigtail, half of which had been incinerated "Great, the welcome party is already here! Thanks a lot Loveberry!" Marco sarcastically rolled his eyes.

"Well excuse me for using the last page of references as a napkin!" Mina sassed back at the boy, crossing her muscular arms against her chest as she quietly whispered "What'd my hair ever do to you?"

The new additions in the room broke Star's concentration, stopping her spell for the time being. She wanted to speak, to say anything to her beloved as he stood in front of her. His piercing red eyes made her throat go dry; she missed his brown eyes, the ones that were filled with tender love and compassion. Star could think of a million things to say to him, the real roadblock was getting him to listen.

Tom and Kelly stepped in front of her protectively "Leave Marco to us, you take the loony and gramps." Kelly reassured her friend. On the other side, Mina and Seth let out a shout of protest "Hey!" Not paying attention to the two, Star gratefully smiled to her friends.

It was three versus three on both ends, each side waiting for the other to make their move…"To heck with this! MINA LOVEBERRY!" the muscular woman screamed her name as she charged forward, ending the silence. Star and her friends all shrugged to each other, before Star herself jumped up with a twirl "Shortcake Sparkle Bomb!" she showered the soldier with a massive slice of strawberry shortcake, which proceeded to explode upon contact. Mina was sent right into a wall, taking a piece of frosting off of her helmet and licking it "Oh now that is some good dessert!"

"Ha!" Seth took a second to laugh at the Mewman, the next second he felt a rhino boot kick him in the face "Gah! Right in my eye!" he complained as Star skid to a stop beside him "You miserable brat!" he clawed at the blonde "Mega Narwhal Blast!" she launched one of her signature spells as the Septarian…and one of the narwhals hit him directly in the crotch! Seth dropped to the floor in searing agony "I have felt true pain…"he croaked out.

With Tom and Kelly, the two went after Marco as they alternated attacking; Marco deflected both of their attacks "How are you two weaker than before? Did I beat you so bad it knocked the fight out of ya?" Marco taunted "Release!" he summoned his monster arm and swiped at the two.

The monster arm knocked the both into a corner, instead of crashing they held their legs to the wall and used it to spring forward. Back to back, they launched themselves at Marco, creating a flaming sword tornado. Caught off guard, Marco tried to block it with his monster arm; the attack kept going and sliced off a chunk of the tentacle before slamming directly into Marco. The force pushed them through the wall and into the room on the other side.

OXOXOXOX

"So that is how I got the third ex-boyfriend arrested for mail fraud! I gotta tell ya the Jacuzzi shark did not make things any easier!" Pony Head regaled another of her stories to the Blood Moon above, who in turn wished it had a head to hit against the wall.

"Yo Pony!" Janna's voice caught both of their attention; the beanie-clad teen poked her head out of a nearby window "The terrible trio is here, the fight is on!"

"Looks like my friends need me! We will finish this conversation in a bit BM, kay thanks!" Pony turned to the Blood Moon before flying down to Janna's window, following her to the battlefield.

Now all alone, the Blood Moon waited awkwardly in the sky. Flashing a message that translated roughly to 'Yeah, thanks I love being out here all alone…wish I had a body….'

Rushing through the abandoned school, Janna and Pony Head made it back in time to see Star shoot a cupcake blast at Seth and then immediately turn around and hit Mina with a rainbow fist uppercut "B-Fly, your backup has arrived!" Pony darted straight for Seth "Hey, remember me?" Seth's eyes widened and he instantly backed away "Oh no not you again!" he made his way out of the room, pursued by the floating head as she chased him down.

With only one opponent to focus on, Star gave Mina her undivided attention as she pulled back one of her arms, positioning it so it was like she was holding a bow and arrow. A gold spark lit up and lightning shaped itself into her arrow "Lightning Bolt Arrow Storm!" she released the spell, aiming it up to the ceiling at the last second. The single electric arrow turned to a cloud that rained several arrows down on her former idol. By the last strike, Mina was moaning in pain, barely holding onto her consciousness as she pulled herself up "I'm not…going down like a busted parade balloon…even your strongest spell can't defeat me!"

Star smirked "Oh that wasn't my strongest spell."

Before Mina could react, Star summoned a tiny spider into her hands "Spider with a top hat blast!" the aforementioned spider sent an unending rain of magic bullets at Mina. By the time Spider had finished up his ammo, Mina had lost consciousness and fell face-first onto the floor. Star and Spider high fived before the latter poofed away, the victory fell short a moment later when she heard Tom scream in pain "Oh no, Tom and Kelly!"

Star and Janna poked their heads through the hole in the wall, on the other side Kelly was kneeling against the wall trying to cover a wound, while Tom was being held up by Marco's monster arm, struggling to breathe as the air was squeezed from his lungs. Star pulled Janna down below the wall, out of sight from their corrupted friend "Even Tom can't beat Marco, what now?!" Star spoke in a hushed panic.

"Star, you have to get in there!" Janna urged her friend, speaking in a hushed whisper. Star's eyes widened and she immediately shot down the suggestion "No! Janna I can't!" a pair of hands held Star by the shoulders, Janna looked at her pleadingly "You don't have to fight him; you just have to disarm him."

"How do I do that without fighting him?!" Star questioned, in turn Janna raised an eyebrow at her. It took a moment or so, but the implications of what Janna was saying slowly sunk in for her "Oh-OH! I get it! You stay here, I'll handle the rest." Star crept around the edge of the broken wall, sneaking into the other side as she left her friend in the chamber by herself "Great, I'm sidelined again. Typical." Janna huffed.

She spied Mina's body across lying unconscious against a wall, an idea started to form in her head. Reaching into her pocket, Janna pulled out a near microscopic chip, she held it up to her face and smiled with determination.

OXOXOXOX

He couldn't breathe; Tom couldn't feel the smallest bit of air enter his lungs, the squid like appendage held him too tight. He opened a single eye; taking a good look at the guy he could call his best friend, maybe even a brother, as he single-handedly crushed the life from his body. With his vision beginning to darken, Tom prayed for someone to stop him.

"Seperatio Demonius Infestica!"

In one swift motion, Tom felt the monster arm let go and release him from its grasp, coughing as air began to fill his lungs once more. Daring to look up, he saw the reason for his rescue: Star Butterfly floating by the hole in the wall, her magic glowing a beautiful gold as her spell settled down. The Monster Arm flopped beside him, torn off from the boy that used it. Marco was totally unharmed, his arm had gone back to normal, as if the tentacle had never even been there.

Marco could only stare in shock as his most used spell was separated from him, then promptly incinerated by a beam of golden magic, leaving no trace behind "Release!" he attempted to summon the spell again "Release!" he couldn't feel it, it was truly gone "You!" he glared at the blonde girl as she descended to the ground "What did you do to my spell?!"

"I destroyed it." Star answered simply, calmly making her way to her corrupted lover.

Letting out a menacing cry, Marco began to summon another spell to attack the girl before him. She nonchalantly brushed his attacks away as she came closer "I'm not here to fight you!" she said to him "I just want to talk."

"Talk about what exactly? You're my enemy!" he glared as she stood directly in front of him. Star didn't flinch, she only looked at him sadly "No, I'm not. I'm Star Butterfly, your girlfriend."

"Lies!" Marco prepared another spell, Star kept on talking "It's not a lie! Ragnarok took you and did something to you! Please-"she grabbed his hand, the spell only an inch from her face now "You know who I am, Marco. It's me, Star…"

The spell in Marco's hand began to flicker, his eyes darted around unsure "St-St-"he started to stutter, a foreign feeling washed over him as he dropped his spell "St-St-St-Stop it!" he screamed as he yanked his arm from her grasp. Marco wobbled back and breathed heavily, avoiding looking at the girl before him "No! You-you're my enemy! I-I can't…"

Marco quickly opened a portal, sending some dark whips to grab Mina and Seth from wherever they were "Don't think you've won this! The next time we meet I WILL kill you!" Marco shouted as he shoved the three of them inside the portal.

Long after the portal was gone, Star still found herself staring where it had been. Despite what he had said, her words affected him, she could tell. Even if just for a second, she was able to stir something inside of him.

"Atta girl! I knew you had it in ya!" Janna shouted from the hole in the wall, bringing the blonde back to reality "Oh my gosh, Kelly, Tom are you two alright?!" she remembered her battered friends. The two weakly stood beside Janna and Pony Head who had just flown in "Yeah, nothing that a first aid kit can't fix." Kelly reassured her.

OXOXOXOX

Using her magic, Star once again attempted to unlock the seal in the room. She could hear nuts and bolts unlocking below her, working together as they opened the floor to reveal the compartment. From the center, a disc picturing a straight line with a circle cut and unmatched on the sides of it. Star smiled as it floated down into her hands.

"We did it! We got the last seal!" she cheered, giving a little jump as she hugged the disc in her arms.

The others smiled as they approached her "That's not all, guess what Janna did!" Tom excitedly pointed to the girl next to him, her own face grinning proudly "I snuck a camera bug on Mina, now we can track them down and find their hideout!"

"Janna you are the best!" Star pulled her into a hug as well "Now all that's left to do is save Marco and keep the apocalypse from coming!" Star let go and motioned for Pony Head to come close. When the floating pony was close enough, Star shoved the seal inside her neck hole "Pony, I need you to go and hide that somewhere no one will ever find it!" "You got it B-Fly!" Pony nodded.

Turning away from her friends, Star pulled her necklace out from under her dress, cradling it in her hands "I'm coming Marco, just hold on a little longer."


	27. Kill The Lights

**We're in the Endgame now.**

**Only two more chapters of the arc after this.**

**Sadly, classes start back up tomorrow so bi-weekly updates will probably be the norm from now on.**

**I really appreciate those of you reading the story, I know it's not fluffy at the moment, but things can't possibly get worse...**

* * *

_Darkness_

_As far back as I can remember, it's the only thing I've ever known. No name, no past, just endless darkness. My lord Ragnarok tells me that is all I need to know._

_But something…something doesn't feel right. _

_Something is missing; it feels like an empty hole in my chest. There is something I want but…I can't quite remember what it was. No, want means too little, this is more than a want, it's something I need._

_Lord Ragnarok has told me to focus only on perfecting my dark magic and freeing him from his prison, anything else is just a distraction. I am to push all other thoughts and worries from my mind…however…there is one I can't stop thinking about._

_I was told in the beginning that there was another magic user, the one who holds the light half of the magic. My destiny was to fight this other magic wielder and destroy them, I was taught to hate that person with my entire being._

_But then I met my counterpart, she was strange; she had to have known about me, that we were to fight to the death until one of us was destroyed. But she never fought back…she just sat there as I pelted her with my spells. She called me something…she and every one of her allies called me something, but every time I try to think what it was, it gets all fuzzy. My lord has told me they aim to trick me, they all say nothing but lies and to kill them before they kill me. _

_They all seek to confuse me with their lies; if securing the seals wasn't priority number one then all of them would be dead by now. The last time I was so close, so close to taking the life of one of those who allied with the light. But she interfered; the light user destroyed my favorite spell and stole the final seal. _

_I should have killed her right then and there…so…why didn't I? She was saying something…something that caused my head to throb and my chest to ache. It wasn't a spell, so how did it affect me that much? I am supposed to destroy that girl, I am supposed to hate her…but I don't. I don't feel any hate for the light user._

_I can't understand it…but something is pulling me towards her. I keep trying to deny it, I tell myself it's just a trick, she is the enemy, I have to kill her. My chest feels heavy when she looks at me the way she does, there is something so familiar about her…like I know her from somewhere._

_Was there anything before my lord? I feel like there might have been…the me I know now isn't who I should be…but then who am I?_

_I try to remember but-_

…_._

_There was nothing, Lord Ragnarok is right. Ignore the light user's words; I have to destroy her soon. _

_That is what he is telling me, whispering to my ear as I feel the darkness consuming me once more._

OXOXOXOX

It had been another long day of being Queen for Eclipsa, several hours had passed since she started her conference with other officials from around the globe, even after all these months people were still in shock to see monsters and mythical creatures running around the country. Dressed in her pink robes, the Queen made her way down to the kitchen after everyone else was tucked in bed "Fourteen hours listening to all that drabble, I have definitely earned a cookie or two…"

Reaching out for the door handle, Eclipsa could hear movement on the other side "That's peculiar?" she didn't think there would be anyone else snacking at 9:37. Poking her head through the door, she spied her adopted granddaughter sitting at a table with a late of strawberry danishes "Star?" the sound of her voice caught the princess off guard, causing her to cough up some crumbs "Eclipsa! Hey…" she trailed off awkwardly.

Eclipsa pulled up a chair and sat beside the young teen, grabbing a Danish of her own "Late night pastries aren't usually your thing." Eclipsa noted.

Star sighed "Yeah I'm just…stress eating a bit." She took another bite "We got a big mission tonight."

"Oh?" this surprised the Queen "Did you find where Marco is?"

"Yeah, Janna put a bug on Mina and we tracked their location." Star didn't sound too overjoyed at the good news. Going on to her second pastry, Eclipsa studied Star's face "There's something else, isn't there?"

Star nodded, using her magic to hover a danish before her "The magic, I figured out where it is." Star pointed to her chest "It's inside me and Marco. I got half and he's got half." She took another bite of the Danish.

Eclipsa averted her eyes from the blonde "Light and Dark magic huh? I suspected that was the case." She regretted not telling Star her theory sooner "It was no coincidence both of you could use only one part of magic each."

Star was silent, she stopped eating the Danish and just stared at the table "I'm going to take Marco back but, what then? We can't destroy the magic again; it didn't even work the first time."

"There really isn't a perfect solution." Eclipsa absentmindedly touched her cheeks "Magic has had its ups and downs, it's done as much bad as it has good." She knew from experience, if she hadn't created the darkest spell maybe Marco wouldn't have gotten controlled. Even then, without Ragnarok's essence in the spell there was no telling what would have happened to him instead.

"Eclipsa, what do you think I should do?" Star asked, her eyes uncertain and unsure. The Queen gazed into them and couldn't come up with a good answer "I'm not the one who should answer that. You and Marco have the magic, only you two can decide what its fate will be."

Slowly, a smile crept onto Star's face. She wrapped her arms around her grannie and gave her a hug, grabbing one last Danish as she walked back to her room.

OXOXOXOX

Opening her bedroom door, Star was greeted by her friends as they all did their own thing to destress before the mission. Kelly sharpened her sword, Tom had his earbuds in and was listening to Love Sentence songs, Pony posed in front of a mirror, and Janna was typing on her laptop.

"You all ready?" Star approached the others; the four dropped what they were doing and looked to their leader "Yeah, we're ready." Kelly hid her sword inside her hair as she walked up to Star. The Woolett's expression hardened and she gave her friend a gaze of concern "Are you ready Star? You'll probably have to fight Marco this time…"

Star hated it; she hated it with her whole being. If it was simple training or him trying to prove his skills she would spar with Marco. Fighting him for real was the hardest thing she would ever do, she had kept her distance, left her friends to battle him in her place. She hoped it would never come to this, but after their last encounter she knew it had to be her "I know. I can't keep running from this, I never should have in the first place. You guys saw how he reacted last time, it was proof enough that I can get through to him. If it means I can save him, I'll…I'll fight."

Pony sniffled, tears smudging the mascara on her eyes "Aww, you are like, so mature now! I am so proud of how far you've come, girl!" the bodiless horse threw herself onto Star's shoulder and started weeping, making everyone a bit uncomfortable "Yeah…ok…um Pony Head, can I have my shoulder back now?" Star awkwardly asked.

Pony obliged "Ok, but if you need a shoulder to cry on, I am right here B-fly!"

"You were the one crying on her shoulder." Tom pointed out.

"Pics or it didn't happen." Pony brushed his comment off.

Getting back to the task at hand, Star looked to Janna who had pulled up some pages on her laptop "Janna, you got any intel we should know?" the blue haired girl moved around so the whole group could see the laptop "Well here's what I know, Mina's bug is pinging off in the far north region of Earthni. It's pretty barren over there, no kingdoms or monster villages of any kind. However, looking at the coordinates from satellite images…" she brought up an image on the Glooble Earthni site "There is a really old castle standing right in the middle of nowhere."

Everyone leaned in closer to get a good look at the castle "What is that place?" Star couldn't recall anything like that back on Mewni. Tapping a few buttons, Janna brought up a scan of an old Mewman book "I cross referenced it with the royal archives and found a match; it used to be a house for a goat-man or something." Star instantly recognized who she was talking about "Lekmet?" "Eeyup, it was his house until like a thousand years ago. The page said he abandoned it when he moved in with crystal baby-man."

A lightbulb went off in Star's head "That must be where Lekmet hid his seal; they said they already found one when we found out about this."

"Looks like we know our target." Tom spoke "Anything else Janna?" "Not relevant enough, but the microphone picked up a great conversation between the crazy hulk and old fart." Janna grinned and hit a play button, opening an audio file that began to play Mina's voice "You're so old, you fart dust!" "You're so crazy, cuckoo birds avoid you!" Seth's voice could be heard farther away "Yeah, well you're so old you drive a dinosaur to work!" "I'm a reptile, how does that even work!?" "You tell me, you're the one with the dinosaur!"

Janna smiled "This goes on for two more hours."

As much as Star wanted to see how that conversation would unfold, she closed the laptop and gathered the group into a huddle "Guys, we are going to the belly of the beast. This is going to be very dangerous, are you sure you want to come?"

"Hey, I'm pretty dangerous too!" Tom gave a confident smirk.

"Count me in too; this is the kind of adventure I've missed for these past few months." Kelly nodded, matching Tom's expression.

"I've picked up a few tricks I wanna try out on these guys." Janna added in.

"B-Fly I have always got your back! Ain't no way I'm stopping now!" Pony chimed in.

Star looked at her friends proudly "I knew I could count on you guys. Together the five of us-"a red flash outside interrupted her "Sorry, five and a half of us, will bring Marco back and stop Ragnarok from destroying reality!" the huddle broke and Star took out Marco's scissors, cutting open a portal that lead close to the castle. One by one, everyone filed in, The Blood Moon however flashed in protest. Pony was the last to enter the portal, taking a moment to respond to the red space rock "You are a half until you contribute something to this team! All you do is glow!"

OXOXOXOX

Seth paced in circles around the room, nearly making a hole in the floor as he continuously retraced his steps. Mina sat in a chair close by, one hand holding her knee and the other pressed against her cheek "Stop moving in circles monster-butt! It's not gonna magically make things okie-dokie!" she rolled her eyes at the Septarian.

"You saw Ragnarok, he is absolutely furious at us for our failure!" Seth finally stopped and confronted the muscular woman "What if he drops our deal, the only reason we even agreed to work with each other is so Mewman's and Monsters could be separated forever!"

Mina brushed off his concerns as she got out of her seat "He won't do that, he needs us! We got him this far, so pay day is comin' soon!" Mina enthusiastically twirled up into the air, letting herself float around the room as Seth pondered her words "Still, we need something to get back on Ragnarok's good side..." the lizard grinned to himself, not finishing his thoughts out loud.

Unfortunately for him, Mina had seen his brief change of face "Hold up, you got an idea don't you?!" she pointed a finger into his chest.

"What! Nooooo….." Seth did his best not to sound suspicious, only making him more suspicious instead.

Grabbing the Septarian by the neck, Mina growled in his face "TELL ME OR MAMA'S HAVIN' LIZARD KEBAB FOR DINNER!" Mina's outburst left Seth genuinely stunned, gaping at the woman before him "…good lord! Fine, I'll tell you." Seth relented.

Mina let go of his neck and dropped him to the floor "Come on, spill!" she tapped her foot impatiently "Don't get your pigtails in a twist! My idea is simple; we ambush the Butterfly girl and make her give us the last seal." Seth explained.

"…That's it?" there had to more to it, the idea couldn't be that easy "Wow, for a second I thought a monster had actually come up with a good idea!"

Seth sneered "Oh? Does a Mewman have a better idea?"

Speechless at his question, it took Mina around a minute until she could think of a single good idea "I've done it! The most perfecto plan ever! We ambush the Butterfly girl and make her give us the last seal!"

"…..THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I SAID!"

"Ya have any proof, lizard? Remember, video or it didn't happen!"

"It did happen! I just said that!" Seth face palmed, unable to comprehend her twisted mind "How would we even do that without the boy's portals? We'd have to get there on our own and find them on our own! It's not like she's going to come walking through the front door!"

Not a second after the words left his mouth, the front door was kicked wide open with a very angry Star Butterfly on the other side "AMBUSH!" she screamed as she charged in, her friends following close behind.

Caught off guard, Mina and Seth didn't have a second to move before they both received a narwhal to the face, followed by a kick in the ribs each courtesy of Tom and Kelly. The two crashed against each other from the force of the attack "How did you find us?!" Seth questioned. Popping her head up from behind a chair, Janna gave a coy wave "Invading other people's privacy is kind of my thing."

Before they could get up, Mina and Seth felt a sword dangerously close to their necks. Kelly held it an inch away, ready to cut at the slightest movement, she kept her eyes on her targets as Star walked up from behind her "Mina, Seth, tell me where Marco is right now and you get to keep your heads." Star's eyes burned with an intense glare.

"Ha!" Mina laughed out loud "We have no idea where that boy is, but you however have fallen right into our trap!"

Tom raised an eyebrow "Getting ambushed and threatened at sword point is part of your plan?"

"Yes! Just like Seth had in his plan!" Mina nodded confidently, Seth did not share her confidence "No, Mina. This is not part of my plan." "It isn't?" Mina stopped "Well shoot!"

"Give up right now and we let you live! Your outnumbered two to five and a half!" Star demanded, her hands lit up with magic, Tom got his flames ready and Pony started up her horn drill, Outside the Blood Moon blinked intimidatingly.

Seeing only one way to free himself, Seth did the only thing he could…he rammed forward and cut off part of his head against the sword. Star and her friends all recoiled as half of Seth's face crumbled to the floor; all except Janna were completely grossed out "Oh sweet corn." "Yo that is straight messed up!" "Do it again!"

While everyone was freaking out, Seth began to regenerate what had been lost, as if he hadn't been hurt at all "I am a Septarian, remember? As long as a single piece of me survives I will keep coming back!" "Just like a bad rash!" surprisingly the comment did not come from any of the teenagers, but the muscular lady behind him "You are not helping!" he snapped back "As much as you tick me off Mina, these whippersnappers tick me off even more." Seth watched as Mina rose to her feet, the two stood ready to fight the teens in their way.

Making the first move, Tom shot forward at Seth in a flaming tackle, pushing him away from Mina as Star and Kelly launched into a combination attack on the soldier. With her skills unsuited for combat, Janna ran for cover near a window, glancing out of it to the glowing space rock outside "This would be a good time for some crazy spirit powers!" Janna called to the Blood Moon. It flashed back to her, with Pony close enough to translate "What! All your powers are defensive instead of offensive?! Plus, you can't intervene directly unless another spirit is involved, YOU ARE THE MOST UNHELPFUL MOON I KNOW!"

"Speaking of unhelpful…" Janna pointed Pony in the direction of the others, reminding Pony that unlike her human friend she was combat capable "Oh yeah! I gotta help them or whatever!" the floating head raced off and joined Tom in confronting Seth.

"Glitter Bomb Rainbow Blast!" Star shot an exploding beam of pure glitter at her former idol, Mina shielded herself with her arm but got that appendage burned in the process "You miserable little twerp!" Mina smashed her hands into the floor, sending seismic shockwaves that knocked Star onto her back "If I had known you'd cause me this much trouble, I would've never named you my mud sister!"

Quickly getting up, Star moved out of the way just barely in time before Mina could body slam her into the floor "You know Mina, I really looked up to you when I was little. My mom told me you were a brave and heroic soldier that had fought by the Butterfly Queens for generations." Star summoned a Rainbow Fist Punch, but instead of releasing it she let it grow over her entire body "It turns out, you were just another part of Mewni's whitewashed history!"

Star's rainbow armor was significantly smaller than when she used it against a Solarian months back, this time it only reached up to Mina's height, any bigger and the risk of causing structural damage was a given "What I want to know is why, Mina? Why after all these centuries are you still so against monsters that you'd help release a crazy powerful being to destroy everything?!"

"I…Well…is-isn't it obvious!?" Mina became flustered as she tried to think of an answer, going right back to fighting as she punched away at Star's aura. Her fists simply bounced off the rainbow, Star solemnly watched as Mina tried to break through her defense, to no avail "Mina…"

"It's all I got left!" Mina shouted "Everything I knew is gone! My Queen, My Mewni, Destroying Monsters is the only thing that ever gave me purpose! If my duty is the only thing I got left, then I'm glad I sold my soul to someone who will help me achieve it!"

Distracted by Star, Mina had forgotten about her other opponent. Placing her sword back into her hair, Kelly traded it for a simple staff made of stone-like material. From behind, she swung her staff and landed a direct blow to Mina's hip, causing the warrior to let out a cry of pain "Hey! It is very rude to interrupt our conversation!"

On Seth's side, Tom and Pony hacked away at their opponents limbs with fire and drill horn attacks. Predictably they made basically no progress whatsoever with his healing ability "Dang, this guy does not go down!" Pony commented.

Seth chuckled "I am the leader of the Septarian race; I've lead revolutions against several Mewman queens! After all of these years a flying Pony Head and a half-blood Lucitor Prince have no chance of killing me!" he barred his fangs at the duo, reaching down as he attempted to bite either of them.

"Biting? Really Seth, that's the best you can do?" Tom taunted "Don't you have anything besides healing? Even your friend Mina can fly and has super strength."

"SHE IS NOT MY FRIEND!" Seth roared, grabbing a chair and tossing it over his head, the furniture hit Pony and knocked her back to the wall "Pony Head!" Tom turned around to check on her; not noticing until it was too late that Seth was right behind him "Oh crud."

Tom had no time to react before a pair of teeth chomped down into his shoulder "AAH! You- you jerk this was my favorite leather jacket!" Tom gritted his teeth and held pack the pain. A flame to the face was enough to get Seth to let go "How dare you even suggest a Mewman would be my friend!"

"What is your deal? I get that monsters were antagonized by Mewmans for centuries, but everyone is at peace now, why are you so against all of this?!" Tom questioned the lizard, shooting fireballs from his fists as he spoke.

Seth swatted the fireballs away and sent a death glare at the prince "You wouldn't understand, the hardship us monsters have lived through, it only ever kept repeating. I was born into a society of war and suffering, I devoted everything to saving my people and destroying those that wronged us! Suddenly I get frozen for who knows how long, and I find not only my dimension merged with another, but that Monster's and Mewman's were finally coexisting! All of the were so eager to forgive those who have tormented us for almost forty generations, even my own species has lost interest in fighting and want to make peace! I have lost their respect, their loyalty; all I have left is my purpose!"

As the lizard approached him with a killing intent in his eyes, Tom could only shake his head with pity "Seth, you-""Second wind!" with a burst of speed, Pony Head zoomed right past Tom and pierced her horn right in the center of Seth's chest "Boom! Now how do you like that old geezer?!"

The choice of words may not have been the wisest "OLD GEEZER?!" Tom gave Pony a peeved off look "Ok, yeah that is my bad." She admitted

Watching both fights, it was easy to see that her friends were winning, but something didn't feel right to Janna "Hey Bloody?" she looked up to her skyward companion as it flashed in response "I just had a thought, Ragnarok knows we have the last seal, so why hasn't he just sent Marco to take it back from us? On top of that, those two aren't here when we bust in…" with a gasp and a blink, Janna and the Blood Moon come to the same conclusion "They were waiting for us!"

In the blink of an eye, the shadows scattered across the room converged into the center, pulling Star and her allies with it as the shadows rose up and formed into a cage "Uh, what just happened?" Kelly blinked in confusion.

"You walked right into my hands."

All heads turned to a darkened doorway as Marco stepped out of the shadows with Ragnarok's orb in tow, even Mina and Seth looked surprised to see them "Hey Ragnarok, we got the little troublemakers trapped right where we want em!" Mina put on her usual bravado.

Marco rolled his eyes "Please, you two were just the bait on our fishing line." He wheeled Ragnarok's orb over to the cage, the spirit was pleased with the nasty glares he received from his captives "So you're the teenagers that keep meddling with my plans, it is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face."

"So you're Ragnarok huh, thought you'd be taller." Star coldy greeted the enemy, staring at the sphere with an intense hatred "Let Marco go right now or else!"

The spirit looked amused "Or else what? You are in no position to make demands." His orb rolled past Star and her friends as Marco wheeled it to the center point of the room, right over where the first seal had been "Butterfly's are so predictable, they always try and ambush me when I move my plan into its final phase. Why bother going out and attacking you, when you could come to me and deliver the final seal right to my doorstep."

"Ha!" Star let out a triumphant laugh "Like we would ever be so stupid to do that! Pony Head took the last seal and hid it somewhere you'll never find it! Right, Pony?"

Pony Head was sweating very nervously.

"Pony…?" Tom repeated her name uneasily.

The group's confidence swiftly turned to panic "Lilacia Pony Head!" Star shook the floating horse head, begging her to give a reassuring answer "Alright…um…I may have…forgotten…that it was my job to hide the thing…"

"PONY HEAD YOU HAD ONE JOB!" Kelly screamed in Pony's face.

All at once did the team's expressions turn grim as the dire consequences sank in "Oh no." Star muttered in terror. With a yank, Marco pulled Pony Head to the edge of the bars, reaching inside her neck until he felt the object he was looking for "I believe this belongs to us." Marco pulled out the final seal, calmly walking away with it as the group attempted to escape the cage with various spells, flames and weapons "Nononononononono!" none of their efforts to break the cage were working.

While Marco had taken the final seal, Mina and Seth had set the other four around Ragnarok's orb, stepping back as Marco placed the final one in the circle. His Moon shaped cheek emblem's gleamed with a deep black aura as he muttered a spell under his breath. One by one, the seals lit up, each shining with color's matching those that made them. The five seals lifted the orb into the air, orbiting rapidly as they caused a strong gust of wind to fill the room. Dark Magic runes surrounded the orb, lighting it up as Marco finished the spell. In a flash, the orb exploded in a massive burst of power, leaving an eerie black portal in its wake.

Star and her friends gaped in horror as someone came out of the portal, a tall figure cloaked in a black robe, only his grey claws and horns peaked out from under the fabric. The figure took a deep breath and exhaled "Ah the mortal world. It has been far too long."

He pulled back his cloak and showed his true appearance to those in attendance. With skin colored a charcoal grey, the color became paler as it stretched further down his horns and claws, yet darkened to a pitch black below the waist. He had no legs; his lower half was like a long shadow coming from the ground, wisps of smoke trailed off on the ends. His figure was practically skeletal; in fact most of his bones had torn out of his skin and decorated his torso with a deep purple orb in the center of his chest. Other than his horns his face looked human or what had once been human but now was just a skull covered in skin. His eyes were a single glowing red color.

"Ragnarok…" Star gasped, beside her Pony Head was trying not to gag "OMG he is so ugly! It's basically a walking corpse!" "Hey, I know walking corpses that look way better than that guy!" Tom shot back offended.

Ragnarok turned to Marco who knelt before him "My lord." "You have done well my puppet." His gaze shifted to Mina and Seth "And then there is the two of you…"

Suddenly, Seth jumped back and pointed a finger in Mina's face "Now is when we double cross you Loveberry! Ragnarok and I have been planning to betray you and destroy all Mewman's the whole time! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT!?" Mina stared in shock, but more than that she was confused "Woah, woah, nelly! Time out!" she made an 'X' shape with her arms "Me and Ragnarok were planning to double cross you the whole time and destroy all monsters! Not the other way around!"

"What?!" both of them whipped around to face the man they had been working for the past month "Ragnarok, is this true?!" Seth questioned "Tell me the lizard is full of hogwash!" Mina demanded. The spirit simply chuckled "You both should know by now that I never lie. A promise is a promise, I will kill all monsters for Mina, and kill all Mewman's for Seth. That way you both get what you want."

Mina and Seth were stunned speechless; the reality of what they had done had started to settle in "In fact, just to make sure I cover all of my bases, I think I will kill everyone on Earthni as a warmup. That way everyone is included." Ragnarok taunted, gliding closer to his minions. The two backed up against the cage, both really began to regret their life choices at the moment "You guys actually believed this guy?" Kelly double checked with the duo "This guy is destruction itself, why did you think the commission sealed him away in the first place?"

"I will be honest; I am not mentally stable enough to make proper life choices." Mina honestly admitted "But like heck I'm gonna let this bozo wipe out my people!"

Seth pounded his fists together "You are going to regret this Ragnarok!"

Mina and Seth rushed forward and launched their fists at Ragnarok together. He caught their punches in his claws and smirked "I think you two have served your purpose." Both of their fists changed into a pitch black color, the blackness growing as it spread throughout their entire bodies. Mina and Seth both felt nothing but panic as the blackened parts disintegrated into nothing, both froze with pure terror as their bodies were reduced to ash in mere moments. In the blink of an eye, the two were gone.

Star and her friends watched with horrified reactions, the scene before them left the group paralyzed with fear. Satisfied with his handiwork, Ragnarok turned to the boy at his side "As a reward for your loyalty, you will get to live, so you may witness as I destroy this horrid reality."

"Thank you Lord Ragnarok." Marco bowed.

"As for the rest of you…" he turned his attention to the trapped teenagers "It's not worth the effort to kill you. Instead-"the orb in the center of his body lit up with a blinding light, releasing around ten gargoyle like creatures like the one's Star had seen in Globgor's mural and the ceiling in St. Olga's "I will let you watch as your home is annihilated by my minions!" the beast's roared and stormed out of the room, breaking the window as they took to the sky.

"Now if any of you need me, I'll be destroying the multiverse" Ragnarok waved goodbye as he and Marco vanished in a puff of smoke. Star and her friends sat down in the cage, each thinking the same thing "We've lost…"


	28. Hurry Up and Save Me

**The penultimate chapter of the arc is here! **

**There are two things I want to note about this chapter, one is the ending which I have been looking forward to writing for a while, the other is that I that I should make a drinking game every time I make a reference or am inspired by a magical girl anime (Mainly Sailor Moon and Pretty Cure)**

**Also, I have found that someone made a tv tropes page for this story and it makes me so happy! I've always wanted one of my stories to get a trope page! Feel free to add to it! Thank you to whoever made it!**

**To Sugar: Sadly, Mina and Seth are dead for real. They were always meant to be killed off, freeing a mad spirit has it's consequences. Rest assured, their ghosts are in the Underworld and the two will be bickering for a long time over who's fault it was that they got killed.**

* * *

They had failed,

Ragnarok was free, the whole universe would be destroyed in a little over an hour, and the five of them were trapped in a dark magic cage.

Star Butterfly could usually find a ray of hope in these situations, yet as she sat curled up on the floor, her hands clutching the necklace Marco had given her, she couldn't see any way to fix all of this.

As for the others, Kelly continued to cut at the magic bars; she was on the last weapon in her arsenal, hacking away with a battleaxe "UGH! It's no use! We're never getting out of here!"

On the other side of the cage, Pony had her phone in front of her, using her horn to type on the screen "So the universe is like, gonna be gone in a while cuz this ugly dude named Ragnarok got loose, #NotMyFault. With the short time we have left, go watch my autobiographical story 'Inside the Pony's Head.' It is #Awesmazing! You won't be able to finish watching all forty seven hours of it, so I recommend starting at the fifth musical number #YOLO #PonyWillLiveForever #NotGuilty" she went to press the send button, however her post was unable to be posted "THIS PLACE HAS NO WIFI! HOW WILL ANYONE READ MY FINAL TWATTER POST!?"

Ignoring the shouting, Tom and Janna sat side by side, both sadly confessing things they regret "-and I never got to drive my monster truck. I never enacted project ghost possum; I never got to go to Cuba. But most of all, I regret not ever getting to wear pink in public." Janna sighed "Ok, your turn Tom."

Listening to Janna list all of her regrets, Tom had more than enough time to think of a few of his own "Well, for starters I regret not talking to my parents since I stormed out on them. I regret all the times I was an angry demonic jerk, I regret not giving Marshmallow a goodbye kiss, I-I could keep going on forever!"

"Well we don't have forever." Janna solemnly reminded him "Time's running out, so whatever you need to say you better say it now."

Tom went silent, contemplating her words as he thought over what his biggest regret of all "Janna…if this really is the end. Then there is something I need to get off of my chest." "Your shirt?" Janna guessed, causing Tom's face to flush red "Wha-no! I'm being real here! Can you take this seriously for one minute" the demon grabbed Janna's hands in his own, his eyes pleading for her to listen to him "Janna, I have to tell you this…I-"

A loud crash interrupted what Tom was about to say, the whole team turned their attention to one of the walls as a large figure burst in "Kids!"

Rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, Star gasped in disbelief to see that the person who broke in was none other than Globgor! Riding on top of the sizeshifter's shoulders, was her own parents and Eclipsa "I-I don't believe it! How-Why are you all here?!"

The Mewman adult's hopped off of Globgor as he shrunk back down to regular size, once down Moon sprinted over to the cage as fast as she could "As soon as Eclipsa told me what you planned on doing, there was absolutely no way I could let you kids stop a bloodthirsty spirit all on your own. Thankfully, Eclipsa knew someone that could show us the way." The former queen stepped aside for the current one to approach the cage.

With Eclipsa closer, Star could see a flat object tied to her back. Eclipsa turned around and revealed Alphonse's portrait to the group "Looks like ye need a bit of assistance."

"Hey it's the weird sailor from Star's room!" Pony pointed out. Through the gaping hole in the wall, The Blood Moon flashed a message to Pony Head "Wait, he's who now?" Pony responded to the Blood Moon, who replied with more morse code "Get out of town! Star, BM says that the weird sailor is Eclipsa's dad! Did you know 'bout this?!"

"Uh, yeah." Star nodded "I asked Eclipsa about it after I met him."

"We all knew Pony Head." Kelly added "Why else would she have a random dead guy's portrait in her room?" taking a moment to think it over, Pony shrugged and let the subject pass.

River pounced at the cage and began gnawing at the bars "Dad, if magic couldn't break this cage then I don't think your teeth will." Star told her father "Not with that attitude it won't!" he countered.

"Allow me." Globgor grabbed River off of the cage and stuck his arm in. His arm grew to half the size of the cage, forcing the bars to bend against him. With a small opening, Star and the others crawled under Globgor's arm and out of the cage, the bars returned to normal as Globgor retracted his arm.

"Well now that we're out, we need to hurry." Tom spoke urgently "Ragnarok sent some gargoyles off to destroy Earthni."

Globgor's expression turned grim "Yes, I know those creatures all too well. Fortunately, that also means I know how to stop them." Despite this, Moon appeared troubled "Well if Alphonse can navigate us to where they are, we can stop them. But we can't leave that spire unattended."

"Spire, what spire?" Star looked to her mother for clarification "The-the ginormous spire right behind this place." Moon pointed to the hole in the wall. Rushing to the opening, Star looked up and found the pitch black spire reaching past the clouds "Oh no, it's just like the one in the pop-up book!"

Hearing that sentence, Eclipsa turned to Janna "Did she say a pop-up book?" "Yeah, go fig." Janna nodded.

Moving away from the hole, Star faced her friends and family "Ok, I know what Ragnarok plans to do and how he will do it. The rest of you need to intercept those beasts before they reach Earthni, I'll handle Marco and Ragnarok."

"By yourself!?" Moon gasped "Star I cannot allow you to do that!"

Star stood firm "I have to! Galaxina's prediction said the only way to stop Ragnarok once and for all is to bring light and darkness together. Once I get Marco back, the two of us can beat him!" taking a few steps forward, Star grabbed her mother's hands and looked her straight in the eyes "Trust me mom."

Looking into the eyes of her daughter, Moon was proud of how strong she had become. After what happened with Toffee and the Solarians, Moon never wanted to send Star into the heat of battle ever again. She knew it was selfish of her, but Star wasn't her little girl any more. The irresponsible young princess had blossomed into a brave warrior before she knew it. With great reluctance, Moon motioned for Star to go.

"Just come back safe dear."

"I will." Star smiled, letting go a second later as she made a mad dash for the spire. With a burst of magic, Star summoned Cloudy to scale the twisting tower. Moon watched sadly as her baby went off to save the universe, a melancholy ache tugging at her heart "Moon Pie…" the sound of her husband's voice got her attention. Everyone was riding atop Globgor except for the two of them "She's going to be ok; Star is our daughter after all."

Moon smiled "Yes, yes she is."

OXOXOXOX

With Alphonse leading the way, the group was making excellent progress catching up to the Devils of Ragnarok. Globgor jogged across the land with everyone but Tom holding tight, the demon flew alongside the current king "So we know where these things are, but what happens when we find them?" Tom questioned the hustling monster.

Eclipsa pressed her palm to her chin as she thought of a plan "Yes, one strike of their tails and we'll all be dust."

Kelly grimaced "I don't think that would feel so good."

The Blood Moon flashed quickly "'It's my time to shine' is that supposed to be a pun?!" Pony translated, groaning at the spirit's taste in puns.

The Blood Moon's light intensified, bathing the surrounding area all in red. All the red became condensed into a single beam, focused entirely on the group. When the light faded, everyone had a red glow around them "Cool!" Janna held out her glowing arm, admiring the warm feeling that came with it.

Giving an explanation in morse code, Alphonse smiled and translated "Now that Ragnarok is directly involved, she is allowed to grant you the help you need. That glowing energy is The Blood Moon's spirit power, it can't do much for regular mortals, but it will keep you from being affected by another spirit's abilities."

"So we can fight them without dying!" River enthusiastically gasped, eager to punch a devil in the face.

"It will only save you from their tail's instant death, they can still kill ye with anything else." Alphonse clarified.

Pony Head turned to the Blood Moon "Well look at that, you're not completely useless after all." Unamused, The Blood Moon flashed a comment back to the pony 'At least I didn't forget to hide a seal', Alphonse glared at Pony Head, who gave an innocent whistle as she avoided eye contact.

"Up ahead!" Tom pointed to the rest of the bunch, the Devils of Ragnarok were in sight and getting closer by the second "Listen up; if we cut off their tails, their power destroys themselves." Globgor relayed to everyone.

With their plan set, Tom took the first attack to one of the devils, launching a massive fireball that enveloped the beast in flames. This got the attention of all of them, who turned their sights on their new targets. The creatures let out high pitched shrieks as they swarmed the group.

Moon led the others as they launched off of Globgor to start the battle, Eclipsa handed Alphonse's portrait over to Janna as the latter took cover behind a boulder. With her dead father's painting taken care of, Eclipsa reached under her dress and grabbed a rapier that had been strapped to the inside of the fabric. The queen dashed to the nearest devil and gave a direct hit to the tail, sadly the blade barely grazed the skin "Rats, I forgot how tough these guys are."

Her comrades were facing similar troubles; despite their strength the devils were very durable. River jumped onto the back of one of the devils and gave it a hard punch in the face "You think you're so tough?! I've beaten Earth security guards tougher than you!" he flipped the beast into the air and slammed it into the ground head-first. Seeing an opportunity, Kelly came over and hacked away at the devils tail while it was still reeling from the pain.

Up in the air, two of the devils chased after Tom who evaded their movements. Globgor reached out and grabbed the two in his claws, knocking them against each other. Tom gave his savior a thumb up, not noticing a third devil coming from behind him "Hey Demon boy! Pony Head's up!" the floating horse head herself tackled the beast with her drill horn, making a good dent in its thick skin "Yeah boi, you just got served!"

On her own, Moon fended off a devil as it slashed its claws at her, if she hadn't worn her armor then she'd have already been a bloody mess right now. With a loud grunt, Moon brandished a gleaming gold and silver sword, thrusting the blade forward she pierced the skin with one hit. The beast cried in pain as Moon withdrew her sword, taking the opportunity to slice off the tail in a few good swings. The devil turned to dust and blew away with the wind "One down, nine more to go."

OXOXOXOX

"WEEEEEEEE!" Cloudy happily screeched as he flew as fast as his wings would let him. Despite her spell's enthusiasm, Star remained determined as the two swiftly ascended the spire, flying in a twisting motion instead of straight upwards.

Star and Cloudy were up high enough that the regular clouds were only a short distance ahead; Star paid no attention to what they were heading towards, only to the spire as they passed it by. Her target wasn't the top of the tower, not yet at least, she was searching instead for someone that would try and stop her from reaching the top.

A bolt of black lightning nearly fried Cloudy as it shot out from an opening in the spire "Bingo." Star spoke under her breath. Charging forward, Star and Cloudy evaded more lightning blasts until they made their way to the source. Standing on a ledge at the side of the spire, was Marco standing guard "Your ride ends here!" he shot out multiple lightning blasts at once instead of a singular one.

Star yanked Cloudy into a sharp turn to avoid the blast, and then positioned herself to jump onto the ledge "Bunny Rocket Blast!" Cloudy poofed away as a burst of rabbit-based magic send Star zooming straight to where Marco was. Landing with a tumble to the floor, Star picked herself back up to find Marco standing only a few feet before her.

"Can't say I'm surprised to see you found a way out of my prison, it wouldn't feel right to leave you there when everything ends…Darkness needs to destroy the light first." Marco threatened.

Looking behind her corrupted lover, Star saw that there was a large empty room inside the spire. There wasn't enough room to fight on the ledge, Marco could easily push her over, Star needed to get on even ground "You want me? Come and get me!" Star pulled up a magic barrier as she rammed herself against Marco. The move surprised him and knocked the two of them into the empty space.

Flipping himself back up, Marco glared daggers at Star, who in turn gazed at him sadly "I'm not leaving here without you Marco!"

"You're not leaving here period!" the boy conjured up a whirling ball of dark energy "Dark Shadow Bomb!" the attack shot towards Star rapidly.

Thinking fast, Star twirled in a circle as she drew a gold ring around her body, guiding it over her head she tossed it forward "Light Princess Prism Escalation!" the ring captured the dark magic and compressed it into a small explosion.

Closing her eyes momentarily during the explosion, Star opened her eyes to see Marco right beside her, charging into a punch. She crossed her arms into an x shape as she blocked the attack from hitting her body, only to be pushed back several feet until she was up against the wall.

"Marco, you have to stop! Ragnarok has been lying to you about everything...except destroying all reality. He really meant that part." Star stopped to mention, before gathering golden particles to her hands for another spell. The princess materialized a large golden diamond before her, then slammed her hands together as she called out the spell "Rainbow Moonshine Crystal Halation!" the gem burst into a blinding rainbow light.

Shielding his eyes from the dazzling flash, Marco hurried a counterattack "Black Phantom Lance!" he sent a wave of magic into the ground. The spell traveled until it was beneath Star, erupting into dozens of black spikes that nearly skewered her alive if she hadn't jumped when she did.

Taking a few steps backwards as her feet touched the ground, Star found her balance and held her hands into a heart shape, taking aim at Marco "Infinity Cosmic Heartache!" a stream of pink hearts hit Marco directly. Under the barrage of hearts, Marco struggled to pull up a shield "De-Death Void!" a miniature black hole sucked up the remaining hearts, and threatened to pull Star in as well.

Zapping the black hole away with her magic, Star had not a second to rest as Marco released a flurry of dark arrows straight towards her. Star surrounded herself with a golden magic shield, holding it steady as Marco tried to break through with a magic drill "Marco, you need to snap out of it! You have to remember who you really are!"

"I know what I am! I'm-"

"You are Marco Diaz! You are my boyfriend! You are the sweetest, bravest, most amazing person I know!" Star fought hard to keep her voice from breaking as she spoke "I know the real you is still in there! The real Marco that I love, and I won't stop until I bring you back!" releasing her shield, Star rearranged the magic into a new spell "Dream Crisis Meditation!" the magic latched onto Marco as it held him in place.

Struggling against the magical-goop like substance as he tried to escape, Marco's cheekmarks flared with a dark aura "Calavera de los Muertos." A skull-shaped smoke cloud surrounded him as Star's spell dissolved. Now free, Marco set his sights back on his target "You will never defeat me with spells like that!"

"I'm not trying to defeat you! I'm trying to save you!" Star shouted in frustration "Please Marco, feel my love for you…" placing two fingers to her lips, Star blew a kiss that sparkled like her namesake "Starlight Eternal Kiss!"

The spell grew to half the size of the room, shining with the intensity of her love for her partner. The spell was impossible to dodge, so Marco cast another spell in a last ditch effort to avoid being hit "Chaos Destruction!" the two spells violently collided, sending both teens flying into the wall.

As the dust cleared, Star saw Marco slumped against the wall, unmoving "Marco!" she hurried over to his side "Marc-AAAAAAAAAHHH!" a massive electrical shock coursed through her body, when the attack subsided Star was writhing in pain as Marco glared at her sinisterly "I think it's time to end this once and for all!"

OXOXOXOX

"KRYAAAAH!" one of the devils shrieked in pain as it turned to ash. Breathing heavily, Tom watched the creature fall as the removed tail disintegrated in his hands "Alright that only took forever. Are we almost done?" he called out to whoever was closest to him.

Knocking another beast to the ground with her weapon, a tired Eclipsa came to the demon's side "Unfortunately we are not even close! There's still seven more of these things left." Other than the one Tom had slain, Moon had taken down the first and the second destroyed itself with its own tail as Pony Head talked to it.

River was gnawing on one of the devil's necks, trying to wrestle it into submission. Moon aimed for the tail as it was distracted, but the tails tip struck her sword and turned it to dust "These things went head to head against the Solarian's. Just the few of us are lucky to have taken down as many as we have."

As a devil tried to pounce on Eclipsa, Globgor punched it away with his giant fist "Thank you my love!" Eclipsa waved to her husband.

Two of the devils spotted Janna and Alphonse's portrait in their hiding spot, then took a nosedive as they readied their tails to strike "A little help here!" Janna grabbed the painting and dashed away from the boulder as it turned to ashes. The devils set their sights back on the human, but Kelly jumped in front of them and kept the devils at bay "Any chance of reinforcements coming?!"

Tom rolled his eyes "We don't exactly have a secret fighting force on reserve!" after the words left his mouth, Tom felt the ground begin to shake "What in the-"a giant vehicle with a drill on the front erupted from under the earth and climbed into the middle of the battlefield.

The latch on top opened and countless Septarian's rushed out with weapons in hand. Before anyone could figure out what was happening, the newly arrived soldiers killed two more devils. The last to exit the vehicle was Rasticore, wearing a sash that had 'Rebellion Leader' written in bright red letters. He vaulted from the top and landed beside Tom and Globgor.

"Seth! For too long you have lorded over us! You cut back our gaming hours and refused to buy the good soda! Well no more! Today, we Septarian's will be free to do what we want! We are sick of fighting, so come out from wherever you are hiding so we may fight you, for the good of all Septarsis, and for the right to order deluxe pizzas!"

As the other Septarian's cheered, Tom walked up to Rasticore and nudged him "Uh dude, Seth is already dead." Rasticore stopped cheering and looked at the boy "Oh no, see we thought so too. But the old fart was locked in a basement."

"We saw him disintegrate into ashes like an hour ago. He's totally dead, for real now." Tom explained.

The group of lizards all stopped what they were doing, as they didn't know what to do in this scenario. Rasticore stood in awkward silence, taking a full thirty seconds before speaking again "Well…uh…this, I don't even know how to react to this." More silence ensued, Globgor broke the silence "You're already here, and you killed two more of the devils already, could you guys help out or…" "Uh, sure let's just-we're just gonna roll with that." Rasticore agreed.

The Septarian's continued attacking the devils; Blood Moon granted its red light to keep the new guys from meeting the same end as their former leader. Despite turning the tide of battle, Rasticore was disappointed "Aw, we worked so hard planning to overthrow him. I got a sash made and Joshua baked a victory cake and everything"

OXOXOXOX

Shaking off the excruciating pain of being electrocuted, Star moved out of the way just barely in time as Marco struck a pitch black sword into the space she had been sitting seconds prior. Once out of the way, Star shot rainbow beams from her fists towards Marco, the boy shrugged it off like it was nothing.

Dragging the sword across the floor, Marco continuously slashed at Star as she tried her best to avoid being hit. Eventually one blow landed directly against her knee and sent her crouching to the ground. Star quickly gathered some magic to fix the bleeding gash on her leg, healing it in time to face a barrage of dark magic balls heading in her direction. Star jumped up and shot out golden light beams that collided against the dark magic.

Sensing something to her left, Star matched Marco's punches with her own. Matching his strikes perfectly, the two went at it for a minute before Star broke the chain and sent a kick instead. Marco took the kick square in the chest and fell back for a moment, allowing both to catch their breath.

"Marco…please…" Star started to choke on the tears she was holding back, desperate for her words to reach him.

She attempted to take a step closer to him, and Marco responded by reaching out and grabbing her neck. As she felt her feet lift off the ground, Star gazed at her boyfriend with tear-filled eyes, unable to say anything as the love of her life glared at her with cold, unfeeling eyes.

Star struggled to release herself from his grip, failing as much of her body that she still had feeling in. Her movements caused the necklace she had been wearing to slip out from under the top of her dress, the golden star glimmering against the darkness around it.

The light from the necklace landed on Marco's face, as his eyes were drawn to the jewelry, he felt a pain in his chest, causing him to flinch away and drop Star. A strange foreign feeling stirred inside of him, he tried to make it go away but the feeling wouldn't stop "What-what is that…"

Taking note of his reaction, Star held the necklace in her hand as she stared at it thoughtfully "Do you remember this?" she asked hopefully, holding the winged star out for him to see.

Marco lingered at the sight of the object, his face softened as he felt unsure of himself. He felt like he recognized that necklace, and he started to realize that the girl holding it felt familiar as well. Marco took a step back, he felt wrong, something about all of this was wrong…

"Grrk!" Marco tightly gripped the sides of his hair, a splitting pain shot through his head as he tried to understand what was happening "Marco!" Star reached out to him. The sound of her voice intensified the pain, making his chest beat fast and his mind raced a mile a minute "Stop this now!" he shouted at the girl in front of him "Whatever you did to me, stop it right now!" he yelled desperately. The pain raging inside of his head had spread through his entire body, fighting against itself as nothing felt right anymore.

"AAAAAHHH!" Marco stumbled backwards, trying in vain to stop whatever war was going on inside of him. His raw screams were torture to listen to, but it only helped Star to see she was getting through to him.

"Marco, read the inscription on the back." She calmly approached the screaming boy, turning the star over so its words could be seen. Opening on of his eyes, Marco felt his breath stop as he read the engraving 'for now and all of eternity, the two of us are meant to be. My one and only love Star Butterfly, you hold the heart of Marco Diaz now and forevermore.'

"You told me this was proof of your love…" Star softly smiled "That love is still there, it's just lost in the darkness. You can break free Marco, I know you can."

Marco was frozen, unable to process what was going on. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he could only stare in silence as the blonde captivated him with her eyes filled with love. Star got closer to Marco, close enough to feel his shaking as she cupped his cheek with her hand. Leaning in, Star whispered one last plea "Remember me…" and brought her lips to his.

All at once, the feeling that had been causing him so much pain flooded and overwhelmed his senses. This time he did not resist, he let the warm feeling engulf him as he closed his eyes and returned the kiss. Cracks of light formed over the pitch-black crescent moons on his cheeks, the light growing warmer and brighter until it caused the moon's to shatter and engulfed the couple in a pure white light.

As the light died down, and Star removed her lips from his, she felt her lover's body go limp at he slumped down to the ground. Star held him by the shoulders and guided him so that the two sat on their knees. Black goo melted from the top of his body, falling down as his black outfit melted down and revealed his usual grey shirt and black pants underneath. Where the black moons had been there were now two crimson crescent moons atop his cheeks instead.

"Marco!" Star shook his shoulders, trying to awaken him. Slowly, the boy stirred, his eyelids lifted to reveal his usual brown eyes "St-Star….?" His eyes shot open and he gasped out loud as he realized what he said "Star!"

Tears filled both of their eyes as the couple held each other in a tight embrace, holding on to one another for dear life as they wept tears of joy "Welcome home, Marco." Star nuzzled into the shoulder of her boyfriend. Marco buried his face into the fabric of the hoodie he had given her "Star I-I love you! I love you so much!" he loved her with every fiber of his being; he needed her to know that. He needed her to know how deeply, ridiculously in love he was with her.

The two wanted to stay like this forever, but the rumbling of the spire reminded them of the danger at hand "Ragnarok!" Marco gasped, reluctantly releasing himself from Star's grasp "We don't have much time, we need to stop him!"

Star's face shifted into one of determination "Yeah, let's kick his butt!" she stood up and held Marco's hand "Together."

Marco gave her a warm smile before she summoned Cloudy once more, the two of them got on top of the magic cloud as he flew them up to the top of the spire. Star and Marco held their hands tight, they were never going to let go ever again.


	29. The Power Of Love

**Its the finale of the first part of the story!**

**Thank you everyone who has been reading!**

**This is not the end, this is the halfway point. The chapters will return to one shots following the conclusion of this arc.**

**Stay tuned after the end for random trivia about the first half!**

* * *

With the help of the Septarian's the battle quickly turned in the heroes favor. Four of the Devils were killed with only half the effort it took to kill the first few. Only one of Ragnarok's minions remained, it snarled and hissed as Rasticore approached it while attempting to start his chainsaw.

"Come on, stupid piece of-just-start already!" Rasticore groaned in frustration.

A red hand fell onto his shoulder, the lizard looked up at the monster king towering over him "You should rest; I'll take care of this last one." Rasticore agreed with Globgor's words and went off to rejoin his brethren. Globgor grew even larger as he was able to simply pick up the devil in his fingers. The creature stabbed at the sizeshifters hand, not able to realize the red glow was protecting the monster from disintegrating.

"My father saw you as the ultimate soldiers; If only he had been able to see what you really were…mindless killing machines." Globgor solemnly thought back to the days of the Solarian war, to when he had commanded these creatures for his own army, Now centuries later, he was here to slain the final one. Globgor pulled the devils tail in one hand, and the other pulled the rest of it in the opposite direction. As the tail was ripped from the devils butt, as it turned to nothing but dust, Globgor had only one thought "I wish my father had realized what you are sooner, before you sank your tail into his flesh…"

With the last one dead, everyone began to celebrate, mainly the Septarians and River who was currently riding on Rasticore's shoulders "We won! We saved the world!" River cheered. Despite the enthusiasm (and delicious victory cake curtesy of Joshua) the rest of Star's group were still uneasy.

"We haven't saved the world yet." Janna reminded them "Star's still stopping the main attraction."

Staring up at her namesake, Moon touched her cheeks and let out a sigh "Moon…" Eclipsa's voice spoke softly as she stood by her side "I know you'd rather be fighting alongside Star, but this isn't a battle for Queens. Magic is in their hands now, and I trust those two." Listening intently as her successor spoke, Moon nodded "I know." she turned back to the white moon in the sky, silently praying for her daughter and future son-in-law's safe return.

OXOXOXOX

Passing through a thick layer of clouds as they ascended higher into the sky, Star and Marco held on tightly as Cloudy broke through to the over side. At this altitude, all that could be seen was the moon, and the flat top of the spire.

"He's already gotten started, look!" Star turned Marco's attention to the top level, from this angle several portals could be spotted poking over the side of the tower "We better hurry." Marco nodded. Turning around to Cloudy's back, Star poofed up a jet engine for the little guy "Cloudy Mach 5!" she shouted. The engines burst to life and sent the three up to the top like a rocket.

One after another, countless portals to other dimensions littered the sky around Ragnarok. The spirit kept his claw on a pedestal in the center of the floor, a scissor shaped rune engraved upon it. The sound of what he guessed to be a rocket took his attention to the edge of the platform, where two angry teens stood ready to fight "I can't say I'm surprised, Butterfly's are very persistent when it comes to stopping the destruction of all reality. You even broke my hold on the boy, that deserves a little applause." He sarcastically clapped his hands together. The couple was not amused in the least.

"Cut the banter you creepy skeleton thing! We're taking you down once and for all!" Star glared at the spirit with pure hatred in her eyes, clenching Marco's hand tighter as she spoke.

Ragnarok smirked "So, how do you plan on fighting me if you can't touch me?"

The teens turned to each other with looks of severe panic; they both had forgotten his touch destroys anything it comes in contact with. Fighting from a distance on this single platform has nearly impossible. The regular glow of the moon turned a dazzling crimson, alerting Star and Marco to another spirit's presence.

"Blood Moon!" Marco exclaimed in surprise.

Ragnarok eyed the moon with annoyance "Oh great, you're still around. Going by the name Blood Moon now I see?"

The Blood Moon rapidly flashed, the duo was unable to understand what the spirit was saying, but judging by Ragnarok's expression it was probably something in their favor. Ragnarok scowled at The Blood Moon as it gave its red, shielding light to Star and Marco "What is…" Marco examined the glow on their bodies.

Star gasped audibly "The moonlight's shield, this is what Galaxina's prediction meant!" She bounced on her feet as she grinned to a confused Marco "Light and darkness may fight and clash, but if united under the moonlights shield, evil shall turn to ash! This is what it means, the Blood Moon is a spirit so it's light must protect us from Ragnarok's instant kill!" glancing upwards, the Blood Moon flashed that she was right.

Hearing what the girl had said, Ragnarok stopped dead in his tracks. As much as he hated the long passed queen, her predictions were always correct. Now that he couldn't kill the duo with a single touch, there was a speck of fear inside that they might actually defeat him.

Not wasting a single moment, Ragnarok launched a wave of black energy towards Star. Before the blonde had a chance to react, Marco stretched his arm in front of her and countered with a dark magic blast of his own. Gathering his dark magic into his fists, Marco gave a confident look to his opponent "I've still got my magic, not so fun when you're on the other end of it huh?"

As the Spirit of Destruction's eyes blazed with fury, Star and Marco stood back to back. Star called her golden magic to her palms as she matched Marco, the couple giving each other a single glance as they got in sync.

The battlefield was still for only a moment, Ragnarok stared down the duo with a killing intent "You kids want to fight a spirit, then that's what you'll get!" he slammed his claw on the floor and sent a row of spikes burrowing towards Star and Marco. The couple leapt out of the way and charged at their opponent from both sides "Sweetheart Frozen Flurry!" Star shot out heart shaped ice shards towards Ragnarok, freezing his bottom half as a distraction while Marco made his move "Dusk Bullet Sniper!" dozens of purple bullets shot from Marco's fingers, the spirit stretched out so they harmlessly passed through his incorporeal lower portion.

Regaining his usual shape, Ragnarok made a grab for Marco and held him by the shirt. Marco grinned and spun his legs into a magic-charged kick that connected with Ragnarok's jaw. The spirit winced as he tried to skewer the boy with his bony claws, only for a candy wall to rise in front of Marco and get his claws struck. Marco smiled at his girlfriend as she pulled him out of Ragnarok's grasp.

The candy wall disintegrated a second later with a very annoyed Ragnarok on the other side. Taking each other's hands, Star and Marco pulled each other into a twirl as they dodged three more shots from Ragnarok. Increasing speed, Marco lifted Star up and let her go "Rainbow Fist Punch!" Star held onto the punch instead of releasing it, getting a good hit in as her body soared straight at the spirit.

Pushing the girl away, Ragnarok released a deadly looking mist from his mouth. His target was yanked away by a dark magic lasso and sent flying right back at Ragnarok with another rainbow fist "Shadow Fist Punch!" Marco shot a matching spell of his own that hit at the same time as Star's, the two spells stunned Ragnarok long enough for the duo to prepare their next move.

"Blazing Lances!" "Narwhal Blasts!" The magic combined to bring forth a shower of Narwhals with flaming swords for horns. The sea creatures rained down from the sky and pierced through parts of Ragnarok's flesh. It did little to deter him however as he eliminated the rest of the narwhals with a wave of his power "MEGA WHALE BLAST!" Ragnarok found a large shadow coming from over his head, as he looked up, a massive whale landed on him.

The couple celebrated with a high five, only for the whale to turn to ash seconds later "Aww." Star groaned.

"It will take more than some sea creature to stop me!" Ragnarok brushed some ashes off his shoulder "Your efforts are futile either way, the portals are almost finished."

Star and Marco looked at the endless mess of portals littering the sky; they took up almost the entire view. The whole sky would be completely covered in only a few more minutes "How is he even doing this?!" Star looked to Marco with panic. The boy lowered his head and sighed "It's my fault; I used my portal magic to make a console for this." Marco pointed her in the direction of a single podium in the center of the platform.

Holding his girlfriend by the shoulders, Marco urgently pleaded with her "You go destroy the console; I can take him on my own for a few."

Star nodded, trusting Marco to hold his own "Kick his butt twice as hard for me."

Seeing Star run to the console, Ragnarok prepared to attack her. His shot misfired as a wrecking ball made of darkness collided with his spine, not causing a lot of damage but enough to turn his attention to his former minion "Oh if it isn't my little helper." He looked at Marco with amusement, enjoying the burning anger in the human's eyes "You know it's not too late to come back to me. Remember all the fun times we had together?" Ragnarok taunted with sick delight.

A massive beam of dark magic and a gaping hole in his chest later, and Ragnarok wasn't laughing anymore. Marco's face twisted into pure hatred and barely restrained fury, his looks alone could shoot another whole in the spirit's chest "I remember everything." Marco spat.

When Ragnarok tried to move, Marco raised his hand and lifted dozens of spikes out of the ground and right into Ragnarok's torso "You made me into your puppet, you made me forget who I am…" Marco clenched his fists, sending the spikes deeper inside Ragnarok. The destructive entity broke apart his bindings and went to attack Marco, only to find the boy no longer where he was.

"But worst of all-" the voice came from behind, Ragnarok swerved around to see Marco wielding a pitch black sword made of magic "-You made me try to kill the people I care about!" the sword sliced at Ragnarok, missing by less than an inch. Ragnarok and Marco traded blows, each attack canceling the other one, the two of them striked with a killing intent. All of his pain, all of his regrets, all of his anger, Marco released it all in his spells, the same ones he had used to hurt the ones he loved, now were being used to take revenge on the one who had brainwashed him.

With all of their attention focused on fighting each other, neither of them noticed the portals rapidly disappearing one by one. As another of Marco's spells knocked Ragnarok sideways, he finally realized what was happening with his portals "What!? NO!" as the sky cleared up and the portals vanished, one blonde girl stood next to a destroyed podium, Star sent the spirit a smug grin as the podium sputtered and sparked "YOU!" Ragnarok roared "YOU TWO HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!"

The spire started to shake, causing both teens to lose their balance and fall to the ground. Ragnarok's body began to sink into the floor, his ghostly bottom half completely disappearing as the top half glued itself to the spire. Moving quickly before the spirit could make another move, Star and Marco sprung back up and pelted Ragnarok with magic spells. The madman didn't so much as flinch as rainbows and exploding kittens rained down upon him, he only focused on shifting his body into something new.

Ragnarok's body started to twist and expand, fusing with the spire as the material bled into the holes covering his skin. The bony spirit grew enormous, easily dwarfing the couple who stood beside each other in fear, gasping as nearly the entire structure; save for the small piece they stood on, became a giant, tangled mess of horrifying evil.

"This can't be good…" Marco shook his head with disbelief. Above the duo, The Blood Moon flashed in alarm.

With the transformation complete, Ragnarok set his sights on the magic user's that thwarted him. His voice echoed and distorted as he spoke "**yOu MAy hAvEe STopPed My mAstER PlaN, bUT I WiLl sTILl DEStroY tHe unIvERse ONe DimENsiOn At a TiMe! stArtiNG WitH thIs MisERaBLE, paTHetIC dimension And eveRYONe iN It!" **

Pure destructive power surged through Ragnarok's veins; the spirit paused as he readied his power for an explosion big enough to destroy the whole dimension. Star and Marco looked to each other, at a loss for what to do "How the heck are we going to stop him!" Star held her boyfriend in panic "I don't think even magic can destroy him now!"

Marco gazed into her eyes; his own filled with despair "Nothing can destroy him. He's a spirit, an immortal concept that can't be killed. Ragnarok is nothing but destructive energy."

Star's eyes widened "What did you say?"

Her boyfriend looked at her in confusion "Uh, I said he's nothing but destructive…energy…" the lightbulb went off in his head "Wait-he's energy!" Marco gasped.

Star nodded along with him, excitement coursing through her "It's just like with the magic! Energy can't be destroyed, but it can be contained or turned into another form!" The blonde's mind raced, desperately trying to come up with a spell that would work "Well, he's already been contained so I don't think it will work again."

"So we have to change him into another form." Marco followed her train of thought "Is that even possible?"

Truthfully, Star wasn't entirely sure she could accomplish casting a spell that powerful "I don't know, but it's our only shot." Star grabbed Marco's hands tightly, taking a deep breath before she continued "If we combine our magic, it should work…but…I'm not sure what will happen to us if we pull it off." Powerful magic had its risks, there was no guarantee their bodies could handle the amount of magic they needed. Marco bit his lip, solemnly accepting the consequences that could follow "If we could survive the realm of magic collapsing, and merge our worlds together, we can do this." Marco spoke with determination "Because with or without magic…" he lovingly gazed at her, Star doing the same as she finished his words "…We belong together."

The two stood side by side, holding their hands tightly between them as their other arms outstretched and aimed at Ragnarok's head, still charging his power. The couple closed their eyes, Star's hearts lit up with a golden light, Marco's moons followed with dark purple darkness. Their grasp on each other's hands tightened as they summoned all of the magic that was sealed inside of them. No words were exchanged, no magical summoning dance, the magic simply gathered at their hands and shot forward with two massive beams of gold and purple magic.

The two beams spiraled around each other, swirling together as it collided with Ragnarok's flesh. The spirit opened his eyes and stopped his own flow of energy, unable to do anything as the magic burned into his very essence. In a last ditch effort, Ragnarok pushed the beam of magic back with every ounce of power he had. Star and Marco struggled as the spell was pushed back, but they stood their ground and held their hands tighter as they willed the magic forward, letting out two loud screams as they did so.

The two separate beams of magic began to merge into one, the gold and dark purple magic cleaved into a single beam of magenta colored magic. The spell intensified and instantly blew back Ragnarok's attack, piercing through his body as the magic spread throughout his entire being. The spirit lit up with magic before imploding upon itself, the magic released and sent out a massive energy wave that spread far beyond the battlefield. The magic spread across the ends of Earthni, passing the group that had defeated the devils, leaving the two Butterfly women glowing. The magic continued to spread as it encompassed the entire planet, before going beyond and reaching across every dimension, stretching until it had reached the entire universe.

The glow around Eclipsa and Moon faded, leaving the ladies standing with diamonds and spades on their cheeks "Is this-?!" Eclipsa felt her face; she held out her hand and released a small glowing ball of magic. Moon was doing the same, gaping in awe "Magic…"

OXOXOXOX

"….r….ar….Star…Wake up!"

The unmistakable voice of her boyfriend roused Star from her unconscious state, slowly her eyes began to open and Marco's form came into focus "Marco…wha…" Star groaned as she sat upright "Did we win?"

Marco looked unsure "I…don't know. I don't even know where we are now."

Taking a look around, Star saw nothing but the two of them for miles and miles. It was just the two of them in the vast black space. Star had also noticed that she was no longer wearing her regular clothes and Marco's hoodie; instead she wore a simple, knee length white dress. Marco wore a similar outfit consisting of a plain white shirt and pants.

"What is this place?" Star wondered aloud as she and Marco stood up, holding their hands tight as they searched for any sign of life.

"This is the Spirit World."

The duo jumped at the sound of another voice, frantically searching for where it came from "Well, not the main part of the Spirit World. This is more of the waiting room to my world." The voice spoke again. The endless blackness was disrupted as a soft red glow faded into existence, the glow was coming from an adult woman dressed all in red, even her eyes were pure red orbs as she approached the cautious teenagers.

"Who are you?! What happened to Ragnarok?! What are we doing here?!" Marco rapidly questioned the woman as she approached. The lady was not walking, instead she floated inches above the ground, standing upright she was much taller than Star or Marco, around the same height as Ragnarok to be exact.

"Really Marco, the two of you should recognize me by now." The lady shook her head, disappointed that they did not instantly know who she was.

Star took a step forward, and noticed the Red Crescent symbol on the wooden pendant around her neck and in the center of a golden circlet on her forehead "Wait…are you the Blood Moon?!" Star gasped.

The woman smiled "Yep, I'm the Blood Moon Spirit. This is my true form."

Other than the pendant and circlet with her insignia on it, below her eyes was red eyeliner curved into a moon shape. Her red hair was parted into crescent shaped bangs reaching to her chin, the back matched with the hair splitting into two crescent shaped halves stretching to her ankles. The Blood Moon wore a red, Asian styled dress; the top had a golden line forming from the neck with two stiches crossing over. Her red sleeves were detached as they covered her arms separately, the gold lining at the bottom nearly obscured her hands. A simple gold corset was decorated with a thin red string tied into a bow in front, the red part of her dress was angled so it only fell to the right side, and a short white skirt was underneath as the red and gold half nearly reached the floor. Her shoes were red heels with red ribbon-like swirls reaching to her knees. Finally, there was a thing string falling alongside the right side of her outfit with several glass orbs filled with red energy.

Star and Marco stared in shock "You're a girl?!" Star blurted out, thinking back, Alphonse did always call the Blood Moon 'she', but Star had thought that was just sailor-talk.

Shaking her head with annoyance, Blood Moon just sighed and moved on "It's nice to be able to speak with you two like this instead of morse code. I can't manifest this form in your dimension. As for your other questions…" she held out a small speck of black light. The tiny mote floated between Star and Marco, leaving them feeling uneasy "Are you going to tell us what this is or do we have to guess?" Marco swatted the thing away.

"Your spell worked, that's part of Ragnarok." Blood Moon answered.

"No way! This little thing was Ragnarok?!" Marco got as far away from the mote as he could, glaring at it intensely "Well it's a part of him; your spell changed him into these floating particles. There's one in every dimension now. Luckily, they are completely harmless separated like this." Blood Moon poked the tiny light before cupping it into her hand "Which brings me to item number 2, there was a side effect to casting a spell powerful enough to alter a spirit…"

Star and Marco looked to each other with worry "Is it a bad side effect?" Star hoped she hadn't screwed the universe up more than she already had.

"It depends…" Blood Moon started "The two of you merged your magic into a brand new magic. Instead of light and dark, it's all brand new now. Magic has been completely reborn…and now it's an intangible force spreading across all of the dimensions, rather than a gooey substance in a realm of it's own."

"Wait, so magic is everywhere now!?" Star panicked, terrified of what could happen now "Can't we just lock it back up inside the two of us again?!"

Turning her head down solemnly, Blood Moon sighed "Fortunately, new magic means new rules. The new magic exists as a spark inside of everyone, but it lies dormant until they summon it on their own." While this sounded like a positive thing, Marco noticed how the spirit's face fell as she spoke "What's the downside?"

"For recreating magic, and turning it into something entirely new, the universe has chosen the two of you to become the spirits of magic." Blood Moon regretfully informed them.

Star and Marco froze when they heard the news, clinging to each other as they both desperately wanted this to be nothing more than a bad dream "No no no no no! We-we can't be spirits! That-that would mean we were-"Star couldn't choke the words out, she didn't want this to be a reality.

Blood Moon sighed "Yes, I know, but-"

"This can't be happening!" Marco interrupted, paying no attention to the glowing spirit "We-we-we were supposed to get married an-and start a family! This wasn't supposed to happen!" The boy hyperventilated.

Blood Moon spoke up again "I agree, that's-"

"What about our friends and families?!" Star gasped "We never got to say goodbye! Oh my gosh Marco we will never see any of them again!"

"Well actually-"

"This is too much!" Marco's voice cracked from all the panic he felt, clinging onto Star for dear life "We're just 16! There is so much we haven't done yet! I'm too young to become some sort of eternal guardian entity!"

Fed up with being interrupted, Blood Moon shouted "I KNOW! I AGREE WITH YOU!" the terrified couple suddenly remembered the presence of the glowing lady beside them. Blood Moon held her hand to her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose "If the two of you won't take a moment to listen, I wholeheartedly agree that it's way too early for you to become spirits. That's why I'm sending you back; you have your whole mortal lives ahead of you. There will be plenty of time afterwards to hang around here."

The duo was floored "You…you can do that?" Star hopefully asked. The Blood Moon smiled gently "Hey, I'm the spirit of souls remember? I get the final say when a mortal's life is over, and the two of you have a long way to go." The couple let out a sigh of relief, thankful to not have their lives taken at such a young age. As glad as she was right now, there was still something running through Star's mind "Hang on, we can't just leave magic in the hands of anyone. We have to make sure magic won't be misused this time, or else something like the Solarian incident could happen all over again."

"You're right." Marco agreed with his girlfriend. With an idea in mind, he turned to the Blood Moon Spirit "Blood Moon, since we created this new magic, can we give it some new rules?"

"Of course, as long as you two are here you can make it work however you want." The spirit confirmed. With that, Star and Marco huddled together and whispered their ideas to each other. Blood Moon whistled to herself as she waited for the couple to make up their minds. Once they were done with their discussion, Star and Marco looked to the glowing spirit "So how does this work? What do we need to do?" Star asked.

"All you need to do is want it to be so." The red lady answered.

Star and Marco nodded and willed their thoughts into being. With a loud poof of magic, another creature stood in front of the duo. It resembled the unicorn Star had previously created when she recreated the Realm of Magic, but it also appeared to be part dragon. Its legs were mismatched on both sides with hooves and claws. Red scales meshed with pink fur all over the body, and its mouth and ears had a draconic appearance to them. Its mane was spiky yet elegant, its eyes a magenta hue with a reptilian slit. While the tail and horn was completely unicorn, its wings were completely dragon. The side of its flank was decorated with a symbol of a pink heart beside a red moon.

"…what." Blood Moon stared at the creature in confusion.

Marco ran his hand through the creature's mane, amazed at what he helped create "So we decided that magic needs someone to watch over it and keep things in line. Until the two of us…y'know…this dragcorn will take care of it." The spirit approached the so called 'dragcorn' and brushed her fingers across their scales "I can see the two of you added your own personal touches. Does this magnificent being have a name?"

Without a second thought, Star instantly knew the perfect name "Hank." She went to cuddle the newly named dragcorn. Marco wanted to ask why she chose that name, but figured he'd just go with it and ask questions later.

"That's a mighty fine creation the two of ye have there!" an old voice bellowed, alerting the group of Alphonse's presence "I knew I saw some greatness in the two of ye, didn't think things would go like this though."

Pulling away from Hank, Star waved to the old sailor "Hey Alphonse!" "Ahoy Star!" he waved back before addressing the Blood Moon "I'll lead the two of them back to their world now if that's alright with you?" "Not at all captain, it's time for them to leave anyway." Blood Moon replied.

Knowing that it was time to head back, Star and Marco looked Hank in the eyes "Alright Hank, you gotta keep magic under control from now on. If anyone uses it for any wrongdoings or evil, you take their magic away for good." Marco reminded them. Hank nodded to their creators, wishing them the best before they parted.

Giving their creation one last hug, Star and Marco approached the spirits "We're ready." Star spoke, holding Marco's hand tight. Alphonse materialized a steering wheel before him, and gestured for the two of them to hold on. Watching those two take the wheel, Blood Moon wanted to say one last thing before being reduced to morse code again "Hey, when the two of you get back could you clear up my reputation? I'm really sick of being calling my gift a curse."

Alphonse chuckled "Yeah, the only cursing she does is with her foul language."

The wheel started to glow a light blue, before they got a chance to say goodbye the teenagers were swept back into their own dimension, leaving the two spirits and Hank on their own "Those two truly are soulmates aren't they?" Alphonse remarked, watching a smile cross his friends face "Yeah, they really are…" one day she wanted to tell them everything, how their souls were truly united, how not even the severing stone could separate them, all it did was remove The Blood Moon from the equation, how their souls chose to keep holding on to each other, how they were bonded with their own power. Until then, The Blood Moon was content just watching from afar.

OXOXOXOX

The battle was over, the darkness had been cleared. The spire that pierced the sky was nothing but dust covering the rubble that had formerly been Lekmet's castle. The morning sunlight shined down on the two figures lying on the ground, awakening together as their eyes met.

"Star…" Marco breathed.

"Marco…" Star breathed too.

The two were bruised and tired, but they were alive. They were together. Their fingers intertwined, the couple nudged themselves closer together and laughed, they joyfully laughed as their nightmare was over. That would be the final time anything would ever separate them, now they were whole once more, and neither would ever let go ever again.

* * *

**That's a wrap on the 1st half of the fanfiction! The world is safe but Star and Marco have a lot of cuteness left ahead!**

**As I finished the chapter, I thought about alot of stuff that stayed in my head instead of going on the pages, so I decided to share my thoughts with some trivia notes:**

**1\. This was the first fanfic I have written where every chapter has been planned from the beginning. I started brainstorming after the finale and made a bucket list of what I still wanted to see. Each chapter, including the rest has an outline with the basic plot of each written and more is added as I go.**

**2\. Despite being organized beforehand, there were still some changes that happened as the chapters were written. Some chapters shifted in order, 10 was originally two separate stories that were merged into one, 20 was almost complete when I decided to delete half of it (Thanos style) and shifted the focus. That chapter was originally a Marco and Meteora bonding story, the name of the chapter still reflects the earlier plot. The mention of Eclipsa wanting Star to be her successor was originally not even going to be mentioned until the second half but it made more sense to reveal it to the readers before Star. My original draft did not include Seth and Alphonse in the story at all! Mina was originally solo before I realized the gold of having those two work together. Alphonse's role was originally meant for Father Time, write before I wrote the chapter I realized Father Time wouldn't know morse code, and that Alphonse needed some screentime anyway.**

**3\. The monster arm's brief appearance, the St. Olga's room, Alphonse and the Blood Moon, I thought they would have a bigger impact after season 1. I needed to write my own conclusions for those plots.**

**4\. Regarding Ragnarok, the story needed a villain that was neither Mewman nor Monster, while tying together the corruption of the magic realm and darkest spell's origins. Magic is used to create, so destruction is it's foil. Ragnarok's design was actually not finalized until right before he was released. I originally designed him to look more beastly, like a lion or something, but then I realized that would make him look more like a monster. For the final design I wanted him to look like a corpse. If he had a voice actor, it would be Kirk Thornton with his AxeKnightmon voice.**

**5\. As for the Blood Moon, CotBM was a big point of anxiety and sadness for me. I truly believed that it wasn't intended to do any harm with bonding them, then I thought 'what if the moon had feelings?' I have seen many fics include the Blood Moon, but never any depicting it as an actual character. The twist of the Blood Moon's true form being a woman was hinted by Alphonse a few times, I wonder if anyone noticed? Her design was actually made back between the hiatus of seasons 1 and 2, I've had that idea of the Blood Moon being an actual person for a few years now. While her design was mostly unchanged all this time except for her hairstyle, after season 2 came out I changed the hair style since it looked VERY close to Hekapoo's! That was a weird coincidence. Her outfit was inspired by Cure Scarlet with a personality like La Muerte...alongside an attitude of being absolutely done with everyone's stupidity and cussing out people when she is angry in morse. Voice wise she would sound like Elizabeth Gillies' Daphne voice from Winx Club.**

**6\. The idea of a Dark Marco was something I predicted would happen after Monster Arm aired. Not going to lie, I really wanted to see that. So from the get-go I knew I wanted to write an evil Marco arc, the unicorn wound was a good opening to use. I decided against the Monster Arm being in control but wanted it to be the main spell in his arsenal, it was originally supposed to be destroyed last chapter but I bumped it up a few. Sailor Moon's Dark Endymion arc was a major inspiration for the story arc, while ****Marco's outfit as Dark Marco was based on Seiji's outfit in Happiness Charge Precure when he was brainwashed, Seiji is literally Marco's anime twin.**

**7\. Speaking of Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon, I am a huge magical girl anime fangirl. I couldn't resist sneaking in some shout outs to my two favorites in this story (and one from Mermaid Melody). Try and find all my mahou shoujo references.**

**8\. I know magic coming back is cliche, but I find it hard to believe that all of it was destroyed when the worlds merged after it's destruction.**

**As for what's to come...it will be nearly all one shots again. There is another story arc near the end but it's only three chapters long instead of how many this was. The biggest change will be magic returning and longer time skips between some chapters. **

**I hope you will keep reading as the story continues.**


	30. And I'm Home

**Welcome back Starco fans! This is the beginning of the second half of this story.**

**This chapter is more of an epilogue for the Ragnarok arc, the new status quo for the story with Marco having magic will be the topic of this and the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

"_Deadly Lances!"_

_Several pitch black swords appeared out of thin air as he called out for them, they circled the boy as he threw them forward one by one. Each hit bouncing off of a golden shield being held by a blonde girl with a red hoodie over her dress. She struggled to maintain the shield as each sword created further cracks in the barrier._

"_Marco, you have to stop!" she called out to him, tears cascading down her face._

_He didn't care what she said; he only focused on his goal "Dusk Meteor!" a sphere of dark magic burst from his hand and smashed into the shield, shattering it to pieces. The girl on the other side looked frightened, staring at him with desperate eyes "Marco It's me, It's Star!"_

_Despite her protests, nothing managed to stir his lost heart. He took slow steps as he approached the girl, watching her with his blank red eyes. The girl had lost all feeling in her legs, unable to run from her impending doom._

_He held his hand to her head, dark magic coursing through his veins. He felt nothing as he shot his spell forward, taking the life of the girl struck by it._

_Someone else was screaming, someone close by, but he was all alone. The anguished screams pounded at his skull, forcing him to his knees as he held his throbbing head. The screams got louder and louder as they filled his mind, once they were loud enough he knew who was screaming, it was him._

_There was someone inside his body, someone that cared deeply about the girl who lay deceased beside him. His entire body shook with pain, unable to comprehend the intense grief he felt._

"_You have done well."_

_A deep voice called from behind; taking a peak he found a tall skeleton like figure wearing a cloak. It towered over him as its shadow engulfed all the light that remained, its red eyes burned into his soul "Now that the light is gone, everything else shall fall with it!" _

_Everything crumbled around him, the world turned to dust. He reached out to the girl beside him but found her crumbling away as well "No! No, Star!" he screamed._

"Marco, wake up!"

Marco's eyes shot open, he gasped loudly and put a hand to his racing heart. Beside him was his girlfriend Star Butterfly, holding on to him with a concerned gaze "Star I-"Marco started before he noticed something odd. They were floating.

It wasn't just the two of them, everything in his room was glowing red and levitating off of the ground, most objects orbited above his head in a circling motion. The boy took a couple of deep breaths and gradually everything began to follow the laws of gravity once more. Other than what floated in the circle was back where it was supposed to be, not glowing at all.

"Not again." Marco groaned, covering his face in his hands. Star patted his back gently "Hey, nothing's on fire this time." She tried to reassure him.

Thanks to Star, Marco had finally been freed from Ragnarok's brainwashing. He was overjoyed at being reunited with his friends and family, having spent the whole day chilling out at home and apologizing for his actions. After sobbing into Star's shoulder for forty minutes they thought that was it, but being forced to try and kill the ones you love isn't something that Marco could just forget about.

Star spent the night, not wanting to be apart again after the ordeal. Marco felt the same way, glad to have her in the same room as him. Around midnight, Star was awoken with a shock, literally a small electric zap. Marco was tossing and turning in his sleep, crying in pain as he was trapped in a nightmare. His newly permanent red moons lit up the room with red light, producing magical electric currents that shot through the entire house. His parents rushed in right as Star got up out of her sleeping bag to try and comfort her boyfriend. The three of them successfully got Marco to wake up after a few shakes, the magic stopped and but Marco wasn't much better. He clung onto the three of them for a while, letting his tears dry out as he continuously apologized for what he had done.

His parents let go eventually but Star didn't, she stayed beside him the whole night to keep him calm. The same event repeated the next night, except the sparks were replaced with magical tremors that brought some of the furniture to life. The third night Star didn't bother putting up a sleeping bag; she curled up on the bed beside him right from the start. That's how it's been for the last few days now, Star stayed beside him and woke him up from his horrifying nightmares, and stopping whatever magical outburst he caused in his sleep.

Falling back onto his pillow, Marco exhaled loudly "Star, I'm so sorry." Star dropped her head onto the other side of the pillow, gently taking hold of her boyfriend's hand and running her thumb across his knuckles "Marco, you don't need to apologize anymore. Everything is ok now."

Marco flipped his body so that he was facing her, he never tried to hide his pain from her, she would see right through him either way "I know you forgive me Star; I know all of you do. But…I just…I can't forgive myself." He was tired; the nightmares had taken a toll on his sleep and psyche. Star ran her other hand through his hair, calming his nerves as he went on "I hurt you. I tried to kill you. I swore I would protect you and then-"

"Hey." She stopped his spiraling "We're safe now, I got you." Her words put him at ease, he felt his eyelids falling once more as he whispered "Thank you Star….love you…" sleep took him instantly. Star didn't fall asleep yet, she kept watching him for a few minutes longer. She couldn't stand to see him hurting like this; she loved him too much to let him keep beating himself up over his actions. Snuggling into his arms, Star prayed tomorrow would be better.

OXOXOXOX

The following morning had been peaceful at least, Star was able to fix whatever Marco's magic affected with her own magic, and she had gotten good enough to only need a single spell to put everything as it should be. Marco seemed normal when speaking to his parents at breakfast; it was a nice distraction from his thoughts. Afterwards he had sat down in the living room beside Mariposa, while Star stayed behind to talk with his parents.

"How was he last night?" shut the refrigerator door as she gave her son's girlfriend her full attention. Star slumped down in her seat and shook her head "The same as usual." She regretfully informed the two adults. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz sat back down at the table on both sides of Star, Mrs. Diaz patted the blonde on the back, passing a reassuring smile in her direction "This won't last forever, these things take time."

Mr. Diaz looked back at his children in the other room "We can only imagine what our son has been through, I wish he would talk to us about what happened." Star felt guilty, she had only told the Diaz's that Marco had been kidnapped, nothing about the rest of their ordeal. Marco had chosen not to let them know what he had done, he couldn't tell them what he had done. His parents knew there was much more that the couple was hiding from them, heck their son had magic now, but pushing Marco to tell them what happened might only make things worse.

Star took a deep breath before giving a smile back at them "You know, there's something I've been thinking of that might help Marco get out of this funk."

"Ooh, go on!" Mr. Diaz pushed her to continue, which she did "Marco has been back for almost a week now, but we never got to give him a welcome home party." Star dug through her purse and took out a piece of paper covered in scribbles "We could throw Marco a huge party in the backyard, we'll invite everyone he knows, we'll make him the biggest cake and have a huge firework display to show him how much we love him!"

While Star was enthusiastic about her idea, Marco's parents seemed uncertain "Star, sweetie." Mrs. Diaz gently pushed the piece of paper down onto the table "I know you want to cheer him up, we all do, but I think this idea might be a little too much for him right now." "Yes, and we already got some fireworks from his magic two nights ago." Mr. Diaz helpfully reminded them.

Star crumbled the paper and tossed it to the side in frustration, it had taken her forever to come up with that one idea and now she had to start from scratch. Mrs. Diaz stood up and picked the paper off of the ground "A welcome home party is a good idea Star, just maybe not so over the top. Marco needs a chance to unwind, so why not do something simpler?"

Mrs. Diaz's suggestion got Star thinking, what would Marco want to do? Memories of one of their old traditions came to mind, giving Star a new idea "I know what to do."

Back in the living room…

Mariposa giggled as she reached out to grab her finger puppet from her older brother, Marco chuckled and just barely held it out of reach "You've got this sis, stand up and grab the puppet." The littlest Diaz fumbled onto her knees, unable to get her legs to hold steady as she tugged at her brother's sleeve.

The baby pulled on Marco's hoodie, purposely letting her drool drip onto the cloth "Ew, Mariposa!" he moved his hands to wipe off the liquid, lowering the puppet within reach for Mariposa as she grabbed onto her prize "Maako! Maako!" she cheered, earning an amused reaction from Marco "Hey, you tricked me you little stinker!" he laughed as he set Mariposa down beside a stack of books.

Playing with his baby sister always brought a smile to his face, enough to make him forget about his problems at the moment "Now that you got your little friend, how about I read you a story?" Mariposa clapped happily as Marco picked up the first book on the stack, a compilation of short children's stories. He flipped to a random page "This story is called, the tale of Onion Boy." Marco cleared his throat and began to read aloud "Once upon a time there was a tiny farm, and in that tiny farm was a group of vegetable friends. Among them was Onion Boy, a nice boy that everyone liked. One day he met a group of bigger vegetables, the squash, who wanted him to be their friend. Onion Boy wanted to fit in with the cool kids so he agreed to be their friend. But in order to be their friend, Onion Boy was told to betray his…other friends…"

Marco set the book on his lap; unwanted memories of fighting his friends invaded his head. Mariposa tilted her head in concern, nudging her brother's knee to get him to keep reading "I'm fine Mariposa, just…I don't think this story is any good." He hastily shut the book and grabbed the TV remote in its place "Hey, maybe that show you like is on; the one with the talking unicycle that solves crimes."

Sure enough, when Marco turned on the television the show was on "Welcome back to Cycle of Life!" the voice on the TV blared. The screen shifted to show an animated Unicycle with a face and fedora cycling through a dark alley, the unicycle uses a flashlight on his handlebar to search around the perimeter. A silhouette sprints away as the flashlight gets close to it, the Unicycle notices the presence and chases the mysterious person. He corners the figure against a wall, illuminating its features to reveal another unicycle with eyelashes and lipstick "It can't be…my own girlfriend?!" the Unicycle gasps. The female one sneers "That's right; I've turned to the dark side now! Tell me babe, are you willing to fight the woman you love?"

Before the episode could continue further, Marco hastily grabbed the remote and shut it off. Mariposa pointed to the screen with sadness, not understanding the wide eyed stare her brother gave to the screen "Too much TV is bad for babies anyway!" his eyes shifted around the room for something else to do "H-Hey Mariposa, how about some music?" he went up to grab a portable radio and set it beside them.

As the radio turned on an old song from the 80's was playing "I'm going bad, I'm turning mean, I'm the worst nightmare you'v-" Marco turned the knob and changed stations to a new song "Why'd ya have to hurt me, my love? How could you-" he changed the station again "Greetings Darkness my old acquaintance-" Marco kept changing stations one after another "I can't control myself-" "I'll kill it all-" "My greatest mistake-" "Never forgive-" "These painful memories-" "So evil-" "A villai-"

As Marco grew more and more frustrated as he turned the dial furiously, he didn't notice his red moon's started crackling with red magic. The radio became covered in the same red magic as it shook violently, exploding with a loud boom that pushed Marco backwards.

Hearing the explosion, Marco's parents and Star rushed into the living room. Mariposa simply chewed on her toy as Marco was lying awkwardly on the floor "Let's just stick to CD's from now on." Marco sighed.

OXOXOXOX

"-so I am very sure I'm not ever going to listen to radio ever again." Marco finished relaying the events of the morning to his friends. Sitting beside him were Janna, Tom and Kelly, listening to their friends troubles. The four of them were having lunch at Britta's Tacos; Janna however wore a fake mustache and glasses to conceal her identity from the staff. Normally Star would be joining them, but she had run off to 'do something normal' as she had said.

"So, what have you guys been up to lately?" Marco took a bite of his taco while his friends recapped their time "Well I have successfully driven a giant possum out of my chimney." Janna proudly announced "Related to that, I have to get some stains out of the living room before my parents get home."

Janna relaxed and put her feet on the table as she grabbed her drink "You do anything cool Kelly?" she looked to the Woollet next to her "Not exactly cool but I've made some progress with my search. Now that magic is back all dimensional scissors are working again, I've been spreading the word as best as I can but there are so many dimensions I don't even know how to get to."

"It's going to take a while for the mirrors to go back up, which would've made it so much easier to get the word out." Tom commented with a mouth full of burrito. Kelly gave him her attention as she passed the torch to him "Well how's the underworld? Any good dead people lately?"

Tom looked amused "Actually, there are two souls that just got in that are driving the torturers crazy!"

OXOXOXOX

Down in the underworld, a demon with a hood over his face is stuck between two transparent souls in the middle of an argument. The demon detaches his own hands to plug his ears from their bickering.

"This is all your fault!" Mina accuses the monster.

"No this is your fault!" Seth sends his own accusation towards the Mewman.

"Your fault!"

"Your fault!"

"Your fault!"

"Your fault!"

"My fault!"

"My fau-your fault!"

"Ha, I tricked you!" Mina gloats.

OXOXOXOX

"They've been at it for days." Tom chuckled.

While Kelly and Janna were amused by their enemies' fate, Marco avoided eye contact and absentmindedly stirred his straw in circles. Janna caught sight of Marco's behavior and sighed "Oh come on Marco, you didn't kill those two, Ragnarok did."

Marco was not comforted by her words in the least "But I still stood there and watched it happen." He still turned his head away from his friends. Janna lifted the fake mustache and glasses off of her face for a moment as she rolled her eyes "Come on Diaz, it's been six days now! You gotta move on already."

The red-hooded boy froze "Move on. Do you really think I can just forget about what happened and move on?!" he slammed his fists onto the table "Believe me, I wish I could forget what I did. Instead, my memories are crystal clear of all the terrible things I did under Ragnarok's control! I tried to kill all of you and nearly succeeded, do you know how painful it is Janna? To be forced to kill your loved ones and you gladly agree to it since your state of mind is so twisted you can't remember them?! Star almost died by my hands, and so did the three of you!" Marco pointed to Janna "I had you almost dropped into lava!" he pointed to Tom "I almost suffocated you with the Monster Arm!" he pointed to Kelly "And Pony told me about the giant scar I gave you when I shot spikes into your side back in St. Olga's!" Kelly instinctively held her side, surprised he knew about that.

Tears built up around his eyes and his cheek marks started to spark "I've never wanted to hurt you guys, but every night I see horrible visions of what could have happened! I can't just let it go like the rest of you, so don't tell me to just move on!" A strong burst of magic released as Marco shouted the last words, sending a powerful shock that collided with Janna and knocked her to the ground "Janna!" Tom cried out as he rushed to her side, Kelly followed his lead.

His magic subsided and Marco stared horrified by what he had done. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find his voice. While Tom and Kelly were preoccupied helping Janna get back on her feet, Marco pulled his hoodie over his head and ran off before anyone could stop him.

"Ugh, I'm gonna feel that in the morning." Janna held on to Tom's arm for balance as she stood up "Dang Marco, I- Where'd he go?" the bluenette had noticed that their friend was nowhere in sight. Tom and Kelly looked around for any sight of the boy "Aw crud." Tom spoke under his breath. Suddenly, Pony Head flew in from nowhere and stood beside the others "Yo Pony is in the house! So what did I miss?" she obliviously asked the concerned trio.

OXOXOXOX

Marco had no idea how long he had been running, he didn't even know where he was running to. By the time he slowed down and took his eyes off of the ground, he found himself deep inside a forest. He had no idea if he was in the forest of Certain Death or farther out beyond the city limits, it wouldn't be a surprise if he had unconsciously opened up a portal to a secluded spot in Earthni. Marco sat beside a tree, catching his breath as his mind raced with what he had done. He had hurt one of his friends again, he hurt Janna, everything he had done with his magic on his own was hurt people. It was no wonder the embodiment of destruction sought him out.

"Why, why does this keep happening?!" he punched his fist into the ground, leaving a few cracks in the dirt "Why does my magic only hurt the people I care about?! Why do I even have this power?!"

Marco pulled himself away from the tree, before turning back to it and punching the bark with his bare hands. His frustrated grunts echoed through the trees, no one was around to hear him so he let it all out. Punch after punch, the tree remained intact, which only frustrated Marco further "Aaargh!" his fists began to glow with his magical aura, shattering the tree upon contact and reducing it to a stump.

Marco panted as he glared at the stump, feeling better now that he had managed to break it.

That feeling lasted but a second, and then his blood ran cold. He froze, he felt good about destroying something. Unwanted memories flashed through his mind, the memories of using his magic for evil. He remembered this feeling, and that horrified him.

He stumbled back, clenching his chest to try and stop his racing heart. His cheek marks blinked slowly, becoming the only source of light as the forest suddenly turned dark. Marco looked around in panic; his eyes darted everywhere before landing on his own shadow. The pitch black outline of himself grew larger with each blink of his marks; he could swear there was an identical pair of moons on his shadow, but black instead of red.

"No, no not again!" Marco backed away and started running again. With each tree he passed, his shadow followed, each time its shape resembled less of his current attire and more of his brainwashed one. The boy didn't stop; he kept running forward until he reached a dead end at a cliff. As he looked beside himself for an exit, his eyes landed on a puddle by his feet. His reflection in the water showed him as his evil self.

"Stop! Stop this!" Marco cried out, stomping on the puddle so his reflection went away. Moving away from the puddle, Marco turned around to go back the way he came, blocking his path was his dark self.

"What the- how- you're…" Marco found himself at a loss for words. His dark copy summoned dark magic into his hand, releasing it towards his counterpart. Marco ducked as the blast passed above him "Ok, I've had enough of this. I'm through with running, if it's a fight you want then it's a fight you'll get!" Marco resigned himself to the situation. He released a beam of his own magic that collided against his doppelganger, which only smirked and sent an identical spell right back at him.

Every spell he cast, every move he did, the dark reflection would copy him and sent his own attack hurling right back at him. Unlike the copy, the real Marco was getting tired. He fell to his knees after another blast and looked up at his attacker defiantly; the copy stared at him and said its first words "You cannot win, I am you."

The copy held its hand up to Marco's forehead, preparing to cast the final blow. Marco didn't look up, he didn't flinch, he just let out a quiet whisper "You're wrong." The spell fizzled out of the copy's hand. Marco lifted his head, facing his reflection with determined eyes "You're wrong! You're not me!" his body lit up with a red glow "I'm not you! I am Marco Diaz, and I will never become you ever again!" his moons shined intensely, released a powerful blast from his entire body that covered the immediate area.

Marco blinked his eyes, waiting to regain his vision after that spell. When his sight returned, there was no trace of his copy, nor any damage done to the area save for his previous spell. Looking up to the night sky, Marco let out a long breath, looking at his shadow he found it to be normal.

"Marco!" he heard a familiar voice call in the distance. He walked back towards the trees and saw his amazing girlfriend rushing towards him "There you are!" she skidded to a stop and wrapped her arms around him "What are you doing out here, it took forever to find you!"

"Sorry Star, I just…needed to sort my thoughts out." Marco admitted, absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair "How were you able to find me?"

Star poked the moon below his mole "Your magic is really strong; when you let out a bunch of your magic I was able to feel it all the way back home." She pulled away to look him in the eyes, Marco smiled softly in turn "Home, that's where I'd like to be right now." He sighed.

Without another word, Star held out her hand and created a small portal "Then let's get you back, we're all waiting for you." She tugged his arm as she stepped through the portal, leaving Marco confused momentarily "We?"

Coming out of the portal, Marco was greeted by his friends and family as they crowded around him in his living room, all save for his baby sister saying his name and telling him how worried they were. Janna waited until everyone else was done talking before approaching the boy "Hey, so…I'm sorry about earlier. Didn't know that would set you off so badly."

"Well this is the first time you've apologized for something, and you have done way worse than that, so apology accepted." Marco reassured her.

"Ok, good, we're all friends or whatevs-let's just get the movie in already!" Pony Head grabbed a bowl of popcorn with her mouth and floated over to the TV area, which had been set up with several bean bag chairs, blankets and snacks "So much for Pony not ruining anything today." Kelly muttered under her breath.

Noticing the set-up, Marco looked to Star for an explanation "Star?" "Marco…" Star started "You've been so miserable these last couple of days; I wanted to throw you a party to make you feel better. Not a crazy-off the chain party with flaming chicken jugglers and fireworks in the shape of your face, but a small movie-watching party with your closest friends and family. Just…something to show you that we really care about you Marco."

Marco was touched, he gave Star a sincere smile "Thank you, this is perfect." He gave his girlfriend a quick peck on the cheek before they sat on the couch beside his parents while the other four took the bean bag chairs. Tom pressed the remote and the DVD menu for a Mackie Hand movie filled the screen "We got the whole Mackie Hand collection, we'll be up all night binging this." Tom showed his friend the stack of DVD's beside him.

As the films played and the night went on, some of the teens had fallen asleep. Star kept her eyes on the screen, watching as the credits for the fourth movie rolled, and she felt a weight on her shoulder. She looked to her right and found Marco sound asleep, nuzzling into her shoulder and gripping her arm. Star snuggled her head on top of his, beginning to nod off as well. For the first time since he got back, Marco wasn't troubled by his nightmares, the pain wouldn't disappear, but with the support of the people that loved him, he could move forward.


	31. Do You Believe in Magic

**Well it's another beautiful day in quarantine, what better way to get our minds off of the anxiety we feel than with another new chapter!**

**Also before anyone asks, Glossaryck and the MHC were not resurrected with the magic. Star and Marco tried to revive Glossaryck and Hekapoo but were unable to.**

**to answer a review by this is totally a person: Sorry I didn't respond to you sooner, things have been rather hectic in my day to day life. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, as for how long each chapter takes, it depends. Before Coronavirus I would write 1000 words each time I had a day with nothing planned. Now that all my days are free (minus video games, watching this weeks Precure eps and walking my dog) I keep trying to write more but always find myself trapped downstairs by my family instead of finishing the next 500 words I am supposed to write. I would say twice a month would be about right.**

* * *

Magic was a thing again, the whole dimension knew this already. It had come as a shock that after seven months with magic completely gone, it was not only back but anyone could earn the right to use it. One person with newly acquired magic was Marco Diaz; he spent two years living with Star and her magic before the cleaving, but had only used the stuff himself twice before this month. Out of everyone that had awakened their own magic already, Marco was without a doubt the one most troubled by it.

"Nachos, hold still!" Marco frantically tried to get his dragoncycle under control. An hour rolling in the mud had caused Marco's companion to desperately need a bath, the one thing that Nachos always thought against her rider about "Come on, this would only take a second if you would sit still for a moment." He once again tried to reach the dragoncycle with a soapy brush.

As Nachos flailed around, her tail struck Marco on the ankle and sent him stumbling backwards until his butt fell inside the tub of soap water "Nachos!" his moon marks flickered to life at his annoyance. The bucket beneath him vibrated violently before throwing him off, the animated bucket shot its contents out into the sky, creating a soapy rain that soaked the two below "That's one way to do it I guess." Marco sighed.

OXOXOXOX

"Don't go in the closet, don't go in the closet." Marco bit his nails as the suspense lingered.

The boy sat at his desk in the dark as the horror film played on his laptop, his eyes were glued to the screen as the protagonist slowly turned the doorknob and the door creaked open. All was quiet, he didn't dare make a move, Marco was completely engrossed in the suspense.

"Hey, Marco!" Tom erupted out of a portal burning through the floor; his sudden appearance spooked the brunette and made his cheek emblems light up with a scream "Tom! Do NOT sneak up on someone when they are watching a horror movie!"

The red magic sparked into the laptop, unseen by the two, and a scaly hand reached out of the screen "I tried to text you, but you wouldn't pick up!" Tom justified his entrance "If you would look at your messages every once in a while you would know that-there's a hand on your shoulder!" his three eyes widened.

Marco noticed the appendage on his hoodie and screamed even louder "What the heck?!" he punched the hand in an attempt to get it to release him. The arm kept extending until the creature it belonged to was halfway through the computer screen "PUSH IT BACK! PUSH IT BACK!" Marco shrieked, Tom similarly freaked out and tried to free Marco from the monsters grip.

OXOXOXOX

Marco had the house to himself tonight, so for dinner he made a personal pan pizza for himself. Dressed in his apron and chef hat, Marco rolled the pizza cutter across the cheesy surface "Why won't this thing cut?" he grumbled.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red glow "Nononono-" the magic brought the pizza cutter to life and it rapidly ran across the pizza, creating an explosion of cheese and tomato sauce that covered the room. As the glow faded and the pizza cutter fell against the counter, Marco just sighed "Magic stinks."

OXOXOXOX

The following day, Star Butterfly happily skipped up to the Diaz residence. Marco wanted her over first thing in the morning, so naturally she came straight over after oversleeping until eleven "I smell a bowl of Captain Blanches Sugar Seeds with my name on it." She rubbed her growling stomach "What is it about skipping meals that makes me so hungry?"

After a knock on the door, she was greeted to the sight of a red moon-less faced Marco in front of her "Marco, your marks are gone!" Star gasped, Marco just shrugged "Oh, it's just-"his girlfriend's hands smushed against his face "What happened? Is your magic gone? Do you have more sugar seeds?" she rapidly questioned him.

Marco groaned "Star…" releasing her hands from his face, Star found her hands coated in make up the same color as his skin. His moons were partly visible again save for the smeared make up left on his cheeks "I just used cover up. The moons are still here." He bluntly pointed to the aforementioned marks.

"Oops." Star awkwardly attempted to reapply the makeup; Marco shook his head and walked over to the bathroom to grab a towel to wash off his face and her hands "It's fine, I'll do it again after lunch."

"Why are you covering up your marks Marco?" Star tilted her head in confusion, watching as Marco walked over to the sink and placed the stained towel under the running water "I'm…it's just kind of weird to me. You have your hearts, I have a mole, but now I got moons and a mole and it's just crowding my whole face up! "He shut off the faucet and faced his love "Plus, I am so sick of all these magic outbursts. I can't make a pizza without it exploding on me!"

Star reached up into a cabinet and grabbed a box of cereal as Marco spoke to her, taking a bite straight out of the box "Yeah, magic can be a pain sometimes. I've never heard of anything like your outbursts though." She poured some sugar seeds into a bowl and continued to stuff her face as the two of them sat down on the couch and turned on the TV "There is some good magic news-"Star spoke with a mouthful of cereal.

Flipping through the channels, Star stopped on a news station where they showed a video of a guy robbing a bank "As you can see in this video footage, a man in Rome is holding the bank hostage. Instead of the regular weapons that are used to rob a bank, he appears to be using magic as a weapon." The man on screen shoots a firecracker-like spell at one of the tellers "Star, this is terrible!" Marco stares in horror; Star quickly shushes him "Watch what happens next."

As the man prepares another spell, he is enveloped by a blinding light for around thirty seconds before it fades away. The man seems to be panicking and tries to use his magic once more, only nothing happens this time "After the light disappeared, the robber was unable to use any magic at all. The police were quick to take him down and he is currently in their custody." The screen switches to an interview with the man in jail "I'm telling ya, some weird half unicorn, half dragon thing came out of nowhere and took the magic right out of me!" The feed cuts back to the newsroom as the anchorwoman read off a sheet of paper "As of ten days ago, there have been eight reported cases of people suddenly gaining the ability to use magic. Out of the eight, two have already lost their magic, both in the middle of criminal acts, and both claiming to have seen a strange unicorn-dragon thing. Now here's Weather-Bot with the weather." The screen switched to a menacing robot wearing a pineapple-print tie "THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM THE HUMIDITY."

Putting the TV on mute, Star slurped down the rest of her cereal before smiling at Marco proudly "Looks like Hank's doing their job. Magic is finally out of the hands of stupid jerkfaces for good!" While Marco was proud of the Dragcorn for handling magic on their own, it still didn't answer one other question "How did they even earn magic in the first place if they were gonna use it for wrongdoings anyway?" Marco wondered "We barely know how this new magic works, we can't even figure out the catalyst for unlocking magic."

"One problem at a time Marco." Star patted him on the shoulder "Before we worry about other people's magic, we need to figure out yours."

Marco placed a hand on top of hers "I know, the nightmares are gone but the outbursts keep happening. Your mom and Eclipsa have known magic longer than anyone else alive; do you think they can figure out what's going on with me?"

"I bet they know exactly what's wrong with you."

OXOXOXOX

"We have no idea what's wrong with you."

Eclipsa's blunt statement crushed Marco's hope of a speedy fix; he leaned back in his chair and groaned. Marco and Star sat in the Monster temple library across from Moon and Eclipsa (with Meteora sitting in her lap). The three other Butterfly's had gotten their own cheek emblems back, but strangely enough no one other than Marco had gained cheek emblems when they got magic, yet another unexplainable occurrence.

Moon cleared her throat, eyeing the woman beside her with annoyance "What Eclipsa means is that we don't know yet, but will gladly help you find the cause of your uncontrollable magic."

"That's great, cause we are getting nowhere on our own." Star honestly admitted, all she had managed to deduce on her own was that they occurred when Marco was stressed, that much was obvious to everyone.

Marco raised an eyebrow "So this hasn't happened to any of the old Butterfly Queens?"

"No, nothing of this sort has ever been recorded." Moon told the boy "However, magic has been fundamentally changed. None of our old resources will be of any use."

"If I may?" Eclipsa held up her hand "There is one old thing that may still be helpful to us."

OXOXOXOX

The Queen of Darkness led the way as she traversed down a flight of stairs, Meteora in one hand and a glowing light orb in the other. The entry to the basement had not yet been fitted with electricity; the orb was the only source of light as they traveled deeper towards their goal "If we are going to find the root of Marco's problem, first we have to know how strong the magic we're dealing with is." Eclipsa explained.

"You make a good point, for once." Moon muttered the last two words under her breath "Everyone else who gained magic recently has been nowhere near as powerful as the Butterfly lineages. None of them are capable of using summoning spells like your cloudy charm or more complicated spells like the Warnicorn Stampede. They can only access the basics."

"Looks like only us with emblems on our cheeks can use magic to its full extent." Eclipsa agreed, booping the clovers on her daughter's cheeks.

After a few more steps, the group reached the basement. Eclipsa's sight wandered around the room before stopping on a tarp "A-ha! There it is!" she pushed a few boxes aside as she cleared a path through the junk. Grapping the tarp, Eclipsa tossed it aside to reveal what looked like a strength tester you'd find in a truck stop diner "Oh I remember this." Moon dusted off the wooden frame "Does it still work?"

"Uh, what is that exactly?" Star asked her mother, Marco cast a similar look of confusion "And how does it help us?"

Moon patted the side of the machine "This is an old magic power level indicator, Baby used to have princesses use this to test how powerful their magic was while they were training. Let me show you." Gripping the handle tightly, Moon's diamonds lit up and the meter on the device lit up until it reached a little over halfway "A seven, that's better than what several queens have gotten." Moon sounded very proud of herself.

"Ooh, let me try!" Eclipsa reached over and grabbed the handle, her spades glowing as she did so. The bar lit up even further than Moon had "I'm a nine!" Eclipsa cheered, unaware of Moon's irritated expression behind her "Well you have created some very advanced spells; it's no wonder your higher up than me." Moon concluded.

"My turn!" Star pushed herself up to the front, her glowing hearts sent the meter rocketing up to the top of the scale "A ten?! No Butterfly has ever gotten the bar to the top!" Moon gasped in surprise. Little Meteora drooled and grabbed the handle herself, the glowing clovers ranked at a seven "Oh, look Moon! Meteora is at the same magic level as you!" Eclipsa excitedly cuddled her child, while Moon stared in disbelief "She's a baby!?"

Looking back at her boyfriend, Star grabbed Marco by the arm and pulled him in front of the machine "Your turn Marco, let's see what you got!" the boy nervously grabbed the handle, his moons glowing in unison with the machine. The lights on the machine rose until they landed at the highest setting "I'm a ten?!" Marco couldn't believe his eyes; neither could the Butterfly women "Holy corn!" Star exclaimed "Your magic is as strong as mine!"

"Between hosting the entirety of dark magic for several months, and recreating magic with Star, it's no wonder your powers are so…well, powerful." Eclipsa stated, impressed and surprised by the human boy.

"It all makes sense now." Moon realized "You went from being a non-magical human to one of the most powerful magic users in such a brief time, that's why your magic is acting out! Your body isn't used to containing so much active magic; the outbursts are probably a side effect to that."

On one hand, Marco was relieved to understand why his magic was so crazy; on the other hand, the reality of his powers was weighing down on his shoulders. Marco took a seat atop an unopened crate, shaking his head in disbelief "I-I should have known, the universe itself wanted both of us to be the embodiments of magic. It's really hard to imagine that I'm just as powerful as Star." He looked back up the four Butterfly's "You guys have to help me; I can't keep living without control of my magic."

Sending her boyfriend a soft gaze, Star knelt down and held his hand in hers "Don't worry; we'll have this under control in no time." Marco gratefully smiled as she lifted him back up "I'm ready when you are." He told the princess.

OXOXOXOX

An hour later (and a brief stop for lunch), Star and Marco stood on opposite sides of the knights training field "The knights are off today to attend a renaissance fair, so we got the whole field to ourselves." Star announced before lifting a massive wooden target at setting it down in Marco's path. Running over to her boyfriend's side, she reached out her arm and took aim at the target, shooting a simple pink magic blast to the center of the target "Bullseye! Now you try!"

Unsure and nervous, Marco did exactly what Star had done; he aimed his arm at the target and released a red magic blast. Except, his came out as a massive beam nearly the size of himself, sending the boy hurling backwards into a stone wall and demolishing the target into splinters "Ooh, this is gonna take a lot of work." Star grimaced at the destroyed target.

LESSON 1

Star stood in front of a whiteboard, she grabbed a black marker and scribbled some writing and stick figures on the surface "So in a strange twist of fate, I'm the one in control and organized with my magic, whereas you are the one more likely to set things on fire with rainbows." She drew a flaming rainbow to illustrate her point "If we want to get your magic working safely, we need to figure out how to focus it. Any questions?"

Marco raised his hand "Is that permanent marker?"

Star paused, looking between the whiteboard and the pen with uncertainty "Don't question my judgement."

The blonde ran into the center of the field, placing a wooden box in the center before returning to Marco's side "Lesson 1, concentration. If you want to focus your magic, ya gotta focus your mind." Star placed her fingers on her forehead to emphasize her point "Levitatato this box over to the wall without losing focus."

Marco looked relieved "That's easy, piece of cake." He sent his magic into the box, lifting it into the air with ease…and then dropped it when the sound of cymbals banging together roared in his ears "What the-?!" Marco turned to find his girlfriend banging the golden discs together "FOCUS DIAZ!"

Doing his best to ignore the clanging racket, Marco lifted the box with magic once more "Marco, did you know the sky is eighty percent walnuts and forty percent cheese?!" the entire incorrectness of that statement was hard to ignore, but Marco kept moving the box slowly. Marco felt a small object bounce off of his head, within seconds it was raining blueberries "Ignore the fruit, focus on the box." Marco muttered to himself.

The box had almost reached the wall, when a purple walrus wearing a pirate hat poofed into existence and began throwing rocks at the boy "Really?!" he gave a quick look to his girlfriend, who shrugged in response "He's the goalie, now ignore him and focus on the box!"

Dodging rocks while focusing was incredibly difficult, Marco kept getting close before losing focus as a rock threatened to hit his head. After several tries, the moons lit up and the box came crashing down on the pirate walrus like a flaming comet. Letting out ragged, deep breaths, Marco slowly realized he had another outburst "Star, I think we need to use a different approach." "Yeah, maybe something less intense that doesn't involve squashing a pirate walrus with a flaming box filled with smaller boxes." Star nodded.

"Wait, that box was filled with smaller boxes? What's the point of that?!"

LESSON 2

"Lesson 2, fighting an opponent without seriously maiming them." Star announced to the two before her, other than Marco, her father River had joined them "Is that why I'm here?" River raised his hand "Yep, the two of you will have a sparring match, and Marco you can only fight with magic, no karate. The goal is to beat my dad without creating another outburst."

Marco had a few dozen concerns "Star, I don't think this is-"

"AND FIGHT!" the boy's concerns fell on deaf ears as Star waved a flag, signaling the match to begin. River screamed and tackled Marco to the ground, pinning him with a body slam "Don't hold back my boy! If I wear a bear I would have killed you by now!"

Marco stopped struggling for a moment, taking a moment to assess the situation "Balloon Bounce Back!" he encased himself in a balloon forcefield, causing River to be flung away from his body. The balloon popped once Marco was standing once again, he watched River come at him again and tried to think of a way to counter "Uhhh…Wet Sock Attach!" his spell caused a pair of wet socks to appear on River's feet "NO KIND OF CLOTHING CAN STOP ME!" River shouted, tearing the socks to shreds by sheer willpower alone.

"Red Belt Tendrils!" Marco sent out a pair of animated red karate belts, using them to momentarily constrict River. The former king chewed through them in no time flat "Come on Marco! Use a real attack! I can take it!"

The boy couldn't come up with another spell before the man in a loincloth lifted him over his shoulder and spun his in circles over his head. Amid the nausea he was experiencing, Marco's cheeks lit up as he called out his next move "Volcanic Storm!"

The ground shook and cracked as ash-grey clouds filled the sky above them, instead of rain the clouds released a tornado made of magma. River dropped the boy and began running away from the fiery twister that had begun to chase after him "HA HA! Just like my honeymoon!" River cheered, not even a little concerned that the tornado was coming closer.

"I didn't mean to make that!" Marco gasped, horrified that his spell had mutated past his initial intentions. He had certainly not wanted to send a magma storm after his future father-in-law; it was supposed to be a simple meteor shower-like spell. Following the tornado himself, Marco quickly invented a spell to neutralize it "Hydro Monsoon Stream!" a massive geyser of water shot out of the ground directly below the tornado, instantaneously cooling the magma into a black rock structure.

Marco exhaled deeply, trying to calm his heart as it raced a mile a minute. Star came up beside him and held his shoulder in concern "I don't think sparring is working…" Star sheepishly admitted, earning a dry remark from Marco "Ya think?" his moons glowed once more, turning the rocks into snow that tumbled over and covered the three with a white blanket of frost. River poked his head out of the snow unharmed "So, who won?"

OXOXOXOX

LESSON 3

"Alright, don't be discouraged Marco. It always takes a little trial and error before we find what works." Star reassured her boyfriend, who was currently lying face down into the dirt "Forget it Star, I'll just lay here for the rest of my life. I can't screw up if I don't do anything." Marco's voice was muffled by the ground, but Star could understand him regardless "Come on, you know that's not the answer…the only reasonable solution is for you to never get stressed again." Star suggested, completely serious.

Marco lifted his face up to stare at his girlfriend "How did you do it?"

Star tilted her head "Do what?"

Lifting himself out of the dirt, Marco took Star's hand into his own as he searched her eyes "There was a time when your magic was acting up, I almost got sucked into a hole in the sky remember? How did you regain control of your magic then?"

"I…" Star thought back to that time of her life, when her feelings for Marco had first become conscious and her heart was trapped in emotional turmoil "I think it got better when I started accepting my feelings. Sure Toffee's influence was part of the problem, but my emotional state was the main reason my spells got all weird back then."

Thinking back on it, Star came up with an idea that was stupid and crazy enough to work "Marco, I have a plan. I want you to blindly trust me on this." Her choice of words filled him with a sense of dread "This won't end well."

Star held onto his shoulders and spun him around until he was facing away from her "Keep your eyes over here for one second." She let go and began using her magic to construct something big. All the banging and crunching going on behind him was very concerning to the boy in the hoodie "Star, please don't make anything that has the potential to kill us."

Putting the finishing touches on her creation, she turned Marco back around to face the monstrosity on the field…a simple jar of pickles. Marco was at a loss for words, how was a jar of pickles supposed to help him "Star, care to explain?"

"Open the jar Marco." Star simply told him "How is-""Just open the lid." Star pushed him over to the jar. Marco cautiously held the jar, fearing the worst that when he opened it a magic catastrophe would emerge from the pickle and try to kill them. Maybe the pickles were actually alive and he had to free them before they suffocated. Whatever was going to happen when he opened the jar, Marco had to be ready.

He turned the lid to the side, and it wouldn't budge "Huh?" he tried again, holding it against his body as he tried to unscrew the lid "It…won't…open!" he grunted, using all the force he could muster and he was still unsuccessful at opening the jar.

The longer he tried to open the jar, the more his frustration built. Star waited eagerly until she saw the moons glow on his cheeks "Yes." She whispered to herself. Marco began to lift off the ground; magical plasma surrounded his form and shot out in every direction. The boy realized what had happened and dropped the jar in panic "No! Stop it!" he tried to stop the magic.

Star grinned and purposely ran in the path of one of the plasma beams, Marco turned to see her and his heart sank "STAR!" he stretched his hand out, stopping the beam inches from her chest. Marco gaped in astonishment, Star smiled at him proudly, nodding for him to try again. Marco hesitated, but carefully tried to recall his magic, and this time it listened.

As his feet touched the ground, Marco grasped his cheeks in disbelief "I-it stopped. I made it stop!" he ran over to his girlfriend "Star, are you alright?!" "I'm fine Marco, but I'm even more fine now that we've figured out how to take control of your magic." She beamed with excitement.

"Wait…you did this on purpose!" Marco realized, he was never supposed to open the jar, it was only a trigger for another outburst "Star what the heck were you thinking?! I could have hurt you!" Marco shook her shoulders.

"That's just it Marco, that's how you were able to do it. When I lost control of my magic, the thought of protecting you was what made me regain control." Star recalled "You did the same thing just now; you overpowered the magic with the need to protect me."

Marco still looked unsure "But I can't keep putting you in danger for the sake of training."

"You don't need to; I know how to make this work." Star reassured him.

OXOXOXOX

Several hours had passed, the sun had long since set, yet the sounds and lights of magic continued on the training ground. Marco trained with a new method, when he felt stressed he forced himself to think about keeping Star safe. Those feelings calmed his magic, with every lesson he subdued his outburst more and more until the magic no longer leaked unwillingly.

"Pomegranate Flash Cross!" magenta colored lights rippled through the ground in an X shape. As one of the lines rushed on a collision course with Marco, the boy smirked and created a green turtle-like shield "Tortoise Shell Wall!" the magic deflected off of his shield, Marco lifted one hand to the sky and shot out a stream of red material "Red Hot Salsa Sludge!" Star leapt backwards to avoid the boiling, yet delicious, acid "Milk Wave!" Star sent the dairy whirlpool at Marco's spell, destabilizing it "Ha! You shouldn't have taught me milk destroys salsa!" Star taunted.

"That's not what-"Marco decided to forego telling her where she went wrong, and instead took the opportunity to strike "Kitten Bombs Extra Glitter!" he released several bombs resembling both cats and himself, surrounded Star and covering the immediate area in a glitter cloud "Glitter is my thing Diaz!" Star held a hand over her mouth as she shouted, hoping to not swallow any glitter again.

The dust cleared and Marco was gone, or so Star thought "Gotcha!" a voice came from behind her, pulling her against his chest with a bear hug "Check and mate." Marco quipped. Star giggled and accepted defeat "It appears the student has become the master."

Releasing his girlfriend, Marco let some magic glow in his hand, smiling with excitement "I can't believe it; I finally got this under control." Star held some of her magic in her hand as well, holding Marco's hand and letting the pink and red hues mix together "I knew you could do it." Hearts and moons gently lit up the dark "I couldn't have done it without you Star."

"Yeah, I am a great teacher aren't I?...hmmm…." Star let go of her lover's hands, bringing them up to her face as she tapped her chin "You know, there are a whole lot of new magic users now. They'll need someone to help teach them how to use it."

OXOXOXOX

"And…it's live." Marco tapped away at his keyboard, scooting over slightly so Star could look at the screen "This is so amazing! Quick, let's do an introduction video!" without waiting for a reply, Star pressed the video camera on Marco's laptop and hit record "Hey creatures of various dimensions! So you may have heard that magic has returned, and some of you can now use it yourselves. You are going to have a lot of questions, like how you should use it, how it works, who the dragcorn is, I'll do my best to help you out! I'm Star Butterfly and this is my boyfriend Marco Diaz, and welcome to Glossaryck dot com!" Marco butted his head in "The name was her idea."


	32. Romantic Summer

**Well it's been a while, Animal Crossing has once again consumed my free time, I want Judy on my island.**

**Back on track, I have nothing else to add, other than I miss going out to places.**

**To Sugar: Honestly, Star and Marco haven't really told anyone about their future fate. They only told Moon and Eclipsa that they were chosen and turned it down, being future guardians of magic is something they don't want to deal with until it's time. **

* * *

"Finally, the beach!"

Star happily ran onto the sand and gazed in wonder at the beautiful ocean before her. Marco followed directly behind her, his head barely visible over the dozens of bags he was carrying "Star…A little…help…" his voice strained as he spoke.

"You have magic Marco." Star reminded her boyfriend.

Marco stopped; he dropped the bags onto the ground before casting a levitato spell to make them hover beside him. Marco rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment "I still forget I can do that now."

With Marco taken care of, Star tried to dash off onto the sandy paradise on her own. Another hand grabbed her wrist before she had gotten more than a few steps away "Slow down Star, there'll be plenty of time to enjoy the beach after we check in." Jackie pulled the Mewman back onto the sidewalk.

After saving all of reality and helping Marco get control of his magic, Star felt like it was time for a vacation. Fortunately they did not have to settle for a chilly early March beach day back in Earthni, with the dimensional scissors up and running again the group traveled to the Paradisio dimension, where it was always summer and the surf was perfect. While the whole team meant to go, Kelly was busy on a quest and Pony Head was banned from the dimension for the 'Sunfish' incident. Hearing about how perfect the waves were, Jackie ended up coming in their place.

"Someone sure is eager to get to the beach." Tom noted, him and Janna walked beside Jackie as she pulled Star along to the hotel "But It's the beach!" Star gestured dramatically to the seaside "I can't wait to have a beach day without worrying over any time paradoxes!"

"Come to think of it…" Marco looked at his girlfriend "When did Father Time give you the Beach Day Photo in the first place?"

"Oh it's a long story, there was a different time paradox, this robot guy from the future was after the wand, it was weird." Star casually answered whilst raising several new questions.

Moving on, the group began walking into the hotel. With the bags floating with magic, Marco casually walked behind them, unaware of the arm reaching out to grab him until he was yanked to the side by Tom, out of view from the girls "Marco, I gotta talk to you for a minute!" the demon whispered urgently "Next time you could try just tapping me on the shoulder instead of pulling me by the arm!" Marco winced and held onto his arm "What's so important that it needed to dislocate my shoulder?"

Tom took a deep breath "I'm gonna do it. I am going to tell Janna how I feel."

"Wha-really?!" the pain in his arm was all but forgotten at that point, he stared at his friend with eyes wide with surprise. Tom peeked over the side of the wall to make sure the girls were preoccupied "Yeah, I'm finally making my move. Facing the threat of a universal apocalypse and almost dying really put things in perspective." Tom noticed the silent glare from Marco "No offense." "None taken." Marco sarcastically responded.

Reaching inside his jacket, Tom handed Marco a small piece of paper "So I started making a list of all the ways I could ask her out." Marco looked over the paper "Uh, this paper's blank…" "Yup!" Tom answered eerily cheerful, his left eye twitching anxiously.

Marco crumbled the piece of paper into a ball and pushed it back at Tom "Look man, I've been there. It's terrifying asking out someone!" "Not helping!" Tom snapped back, making Marco recoil back a step "What I mean is, you shouldn't be worried about it. Let's be real, this is Janna we're talking about, she doesn't go for the usual flowers and chocolates." Tom nodded "Yeah, for Valentine's Day the two of us threw rocks at passing trains all night."

"That's what I mean! You two are perfect for each other! You could give her a bouquet of eyeballs and she'd love it!" Marco exclaimed.

Tom smiled hopefully "You really think so?"

"Miss?" the boys peaked around the corner, spying a bellhop talking to Janna "Excuse me, is this your luggage?" he holds up a black suitcase that is leaking green goo "Aw sweet, it finally hatched!" Janna smiles as she grabs her bag.

Marco turns back to Tom "Yeah, I think so."

OXOXOXOX

"Alright, now it's beach time!" Star eagerly announced as she stepped onto the sand. The group had finally gotten in their swimsuits and began setting up some beach towels and umbrellas, except for Janna who stood off to the side looking at her phone. Instead of a swimsuit, Janna wore a tank top and some shorts, her signature beanie hat had been left behind in the hotel room as well.

"You know I'm surprised you even came here Jan, considering-" Jackie was cut off by a stern glare from Janna as she looked up from her phone.

While Marco and Tom set up the last umbrella, Star came up to Jackie and checked out the surfboard beside her. The board glittered with hues of turquoise and navy blue, Jackie's signature orange seashell decorated the center beside a cursive 'JC' "Your surfboard is so pretty!" "Thanks Star, Chloe gave it to me for my birthday last year." Jackie fondly placed her hand atop the board "I wish she could have come with us today, but she's visiting her parents in France for the week."

Hearing where Jackie's girlfriend was, she pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her saved stuff "Oh, the latest video sent on our site was from France!" she stopped on a video labeled 'Why would anyone do this?' when clicked a short clip played of a guy using magic to turn a pigeon giant, then start riding it through the skies above Paris "That explains the giant bird poop Chloe's been seeing all over the city." Jackie realized.

Star continued to scroll past a few more submissions and responses sent to Glossaryck dot com "This guy is the twelfth case of someone unlocking magic so far. We've got a lot of response since we started but we still can't answer the biggest question, how does someone unlock their magic?"

"Still no cases in Earthni right?" Jackie asked, Star nodded in turn "Hey, don't worry Star; it's only a matter of time till you figure it out." Jackie reassured her, earning a smile from Star.

With the last umbrella up, Tom and Marco stepped away so the girls were out of earshot "Alright, we're here. Now what do I do?" Tom turned to his friend for answers "Easy, just act natural, invite her to swim or take a beach stroll with you." Marco suggested.

"Natural? Got it, cool, cool, cool…" Tom muttered as he began walking unnaturally towards the girls, Marco slapped a hand to his face out of second hand embarrassment.

Janna didn't notice her demon friend as he came up behind her, standing stiffly Tom cleared his throat to get her attention "Hey, you guys finish yet?" Janna looked back. Tom was sweating nervously as he tried to form a coherent sentence "Janna, how about only me and you go to the beach on our own." Janna rose an eyebrow in confusion "Tom, are you having a stroke or something?"

"Nope! I'm just natural!" Tom unconvincingly blurted out, he leaned back to make a chill pose against a wall, remembering too late that there were no walls as he fell backwards into the sand "Right…" Janna didn't buy it at all.

Springing back to his feet, Tom ran in front of Janna before she could walk away "Wait! I was thinking maybe we could hop in the water and-""No thanks." Janna hastily answered "I don't like swimming."

"Well how about the two of us just go for a walk?" Tom moved to plan B. Janna silently thought for a minute, leaving Tom waiting in agony "Eh, sure." She shrugged.

"Awesome! I-I mean, that's cool." Tom subdued his excitement.

Walking over to the others, Janna put her phone in her bag and locked it up "I'm going for a walk with Tom, save me a soda while I'm gone." She told Star and Jackie "Cool, have fun." Jackie waved her off. Marco gave Tom a thumbs up for support as the demon walked off down the sandy beach. A sudden gust of wind knocked over all of the umbrellas, leaving Marco groaning with dismay "Oh come on!" Star grabbed one of the umbrella's and began helping set it back up "I didn't think it'd be so windy today." She commented. As Jackie pulled up another umbrella, she eyed the ocean suspiciously.

OXOXOXOX

Walking across the golden sand, Tom couldn't help but notice the beautiful scenery around them. Paradisio was known for being a beautiful dimension, the clearest water, the warmest breeze; it was a perfect vacation all year round. While he preferred the lava-filled beaches of his home in the underworld, he found this place breathtaking "Wow, do you see the way the waves shimmer in the sunlight?" Tom turned to his companion. His face fell as he noticed Janna wasn't even glancing at the water, her eyes were stuck downward as she strolled by his side "Eh, not my thing." She shrugged.

Feeling discouraged, Tom was beginning to think this whole idea was stupid. If he asked her out she'd probably want to stop being friends, Janna hated mushy stuff; there was no way she would go out with him…"Dude, they've got funnel cake!" his crush tugged on his arm and broke him out of his thoughts. Janna pulled him along as they headed for a funnel cake stand at the edge of the sand.

Now in front of the stand, the sweet smell of funnel cake drifted through their noses "I can't remember the last time I had funnel cake." Tom licked his lips. Janna dashed to the counter and ordered "One jumbo strawberry fudge funnel cake, with the works." She passed the cashier some of the money she nabbed out of Marco's wallet. The cashier walked to the back and came out a short time later with an enormous funnel cake, filled with everything including a kitchen sink…well kitchen sink shaped chocolate chips.

"Woah." Tom was at a loss for words. Janna passed him a fork as the two sat down on a bench "I bet I can eat more of this without puking than you can!" she taunted, Tom took her challenge "I'd like to see you try!"

The duo dug into the delicious dessert, wolfing down each sweet bite after another. Their treat gradually shrunk until the last bite lay on the wrapper, stuck between two forks. Fire burned in both of their eyes, neither willing to give up the battle. Their forks clashed as a mini-sword fight broke out above the remaining cake. Before Janna could gain the upper hand, Tom slid his tail under the wrapper and flipped it up in a sneak attack "Ha! I win!" he reached his utensil out to stab the cake, only for a random seagull to fly by and steal it in its beak.

"COME BACK HERE YOU RAT WITH WINGS!" Janna screamed towards the bird as it flew further across the beach, Janna mentally added it to her list of birds she hates.

"I got this!" Tom prepared to throw a fireball at the bird "Wait, stop!" Janna yanked his arm, sending the flames into the sand as the bird crossed the horizon "Oh so now I can't blast birds?!" Tom exclaimed. Janna glared back "Dude, it would have burned the cake to a crisp!" she set her priorities straight.

Tom thought it over "Ok yeah, you have a good point."

Smirking, Janna replied "I'm always right." She gave her demon friend a pat on the head "You're welcome."

Out of the corner of her eye, Janna saw something shining past Tom "Wha…" she nudged past him, walking to where his fireball landed "Tom look at this!" she called his attention. Tom came up beside her and stared at the patch of solid glass in the middle of the sandy beach "Is this glass?" he wondered. Janna reached down and tried to pick up a shard, only able to touch it for a second before it burned her finger and she pulled away "It sure is, and it's as hot as your temper."

Tom knelt down and picked up the large chunk of glass, the burning temperature not a problem for him "Huh, well this is new." The sand in the underworld never turned to glass with his flames, Tom figured regular sand was easily melted by demon fire.

Inspecting his handiwork, Tom was struck with inspiration "Hey Janna, how do you feel about arts and crafts?"

OXOXOXOX

With one last burst of flames, the glass was set. Tom stepped back to admire his handiwork, he had successfully melted the pile of sand into a breathtaking glass sculpture that shimmered against the sun's rays. It was abstract, like waves of fire carrying rounder pieces into the sky above.

"It's incredible…" Tom smiled "It's ready Janna!"

The blue hair girl grabbed a wooden stick and swung it into the artwork several times, smashing it into countless glass shards. Tom grabbed a small pouch and stuffed the fragments inside "Got em!" he held the filled bag up to his friend.

"Nice." Janna tossed the stick aside; she followed Tom over to a flat rock on the side of the beach, where dozens more glass shards lay in strange arrangements. Tom dumped the new shards onto an open space and dug through them "Let's see now…oh! I found the perfect one!" Tom grabbed a curved shard out of the pile. He ran over to one of the glass piles as Janna started searching for a piece herself, he sat himself down next to a figure made of broken glass, put back together into an incoherent shape "Now just gotta get it to stay on top and…It's finished!"

Janna lifted her head away from the pile of broken glass to see the finished product of Tom's work "Is that supposed to be Marshmallow?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Tom took another glance at his broken glass sculpture. The piece was barely in the shape of a rabbit, it looked more like a picture of a rabbit that had ended up in the garbage disposal "How about yours?"

"See for yourself." Janna presented her own broken glass sculpture, if Tom's looked messed up than Janna's was an absolute train wreck. It was less of a coherent image and more along the lines of a spiky mess. Tom stared at it in silence "…is it…a hedgehog?" he guessed.

"No man…It's your face." Janna grinned, pointing to different (near identical) edges as she continued "See, right here is your horn and this is your other horn. These three pieces are the eyes, that bit is the nose, and all these tiny shards are the teeth. See, it looks just like you!"

"Oh come on, I do not look like that!" Tom failed to see the resemblance.

"Obviously." Janna rolled her eyes "You're not made of broken glass."

After a few seconds of staring at each other, Tom and Janna burst out laughing "So what are we gonna do with all this glass anyway?" Tom wondered as his laughter died down. Janna stood up and grabbed the bag, piling all the shards inside of it "Open a portal to my room, when we get back to Earthni I'm gonna make the biggest magnifying glass you've ever seen!"

Tom summoned a flaming portal before them, Janna tossed the bag through, the glass was already broken so it didn't matter if it broke some more. As the portal shut, Janna brushed the sand off of her hands "That'll be a fun weekend project." Taking a step forward, she felt something sharp prick her foot "Missed one." She sighed.

Digging into the sand, the small object that poked her wasn't glass, but a strange looking shell "Check this out Tom!" she pulled the shell out of the beach "It's shaped like a skull!" upon further inspection, Tom saw that it was indeed shaped like a skull. There were no cracks or chips on the surface; it was just naturally shaped like that "Huh, neat!"

As Tom admired the shell, Janna pushed it into his hands "Here, consider it a gift." Janna told him. The demon held the seashell in his hands, it was already cool but the minute Janna gifted it to him, it was incredible "I'll treasure it always." He shot her a genuine smile.

Feeling that now was as good a time as any, Tom took Janna by the hand and led her to the edge of the water, where the tide ebbed and flowed onto the sand "Wh-Tom! What are you doing!?" Janna's voice rose with her uneven tone.

"Janna Ordonia…" Tom started "You are the craziest girl I have ever met. You really-"Tom kept talking, unaware of Janna's distress. She was unable to hear a single word of his speech, the crashing waves and the pounding of her heart drowned out all other sounds. Janna could not focus on him at all; her attention was pulled to the endless ocean beside her.

"Janna, will you-" he felt her hands being pulled out of his grasps, Janna would not even look him in the eyes as she turned and ran away. Tom stood frozen in place, his heart cracking in two "Janna…?"

OXOXOXOX

After a few hours of surfing, Jackie felt it was time for a smoothie break. The blonde teenager dried her hair off with her towel as she entered the smoothie shop, the little bell on top jingled as the door opened "They weren't exaggerating when they said this place had the best waves in the multiverse." Jackie happily grinned.

Before her eyes could go over the menu, a familiar mop of blue hair caught her attention "What's up Janna?" she grabbed a seat beside her friend. Now that she was up close, Jackie noticed her expression, one that was somber and ashamed. Jackie had known the girl since they were little, in all those years there was only one thing that could cause that sort of expression "Oh…"

The blue haired teen covered her face in her hands "Ugh this is so lame!" she groaned. Jackie gave her a comforting pat on the back "Hey, I'm proud of you for even coming to the beach. That's a huge step." Jackie tried to console her. Janna pushed her hand away, not wanting to hear her pity "You don't get it, it's already embarrassing enough that I can't help him out in a fight, but if Tom knew I was afraid of the ocean…I might as well dig my own grave again…"

The blonde felt horrible for her friend, while Jackie herself adored the sea, Janna would get paralyzed even touching the water. Her creepy companion at least had a good reason to be wary of the ocean, something Jackie only knew because she was there.

She never forgot about that day, when the two of them were in kindergarten Jackie's parents took them to the beach to play. Janna ran off on her own and tried to swim further out into the ocean, only to accidentally get caught in a rip tide. Her younger self was unable to hear Janna's cries for help, a large flock of seagulls drowned out the sound of drowning. By the time Jackie realized what had happened to her friend she was already being pulled out of the water by a lifeguard, they were able to resuscitate Janna in time thankfully. Janna had recounted how it felt to be drowning, how everything went dark and she struggled to hold her breath, little Janna admitted it was the first time she had ever been truly scared.

"Jan, everyone has something to be afraid of." Jackie spoke again "Like I'm scared of zombies."

"But I shouldn't be scared of anything; other people should be scared of me." Janna shot back "It doesn't even matter anymore, Tom already saw me run away. He's probably laughing at how lame I am right now."

OXOXOXOX

"She's probably laughing at how lame I am right now."

Tom sat on the sand with his knees up to his chest, his pointed tail pulled around his form. He held the shell Janna had given him to his chest, focusing his gaze on it while he sulked "That was so dumb of me! Why would I just pull her over out of the blue and confess?! I should have built up a big romantic gesture, like…burning a heart into the ground or something…but no, I couldn't wait and I rushed and I blew it!"

Standing up, Tom clenched the shell in his hand tightly, the memento felt bittersweet to look at. He pulled his arm back and prepared to chuck the shell into the ocean. He threw his arm forward…but kept the shell in his hand. He wanted to let go of it, to try and ease the heartache he was feeling, but at the same time it made him happy. It might have been small and insignificant, but it came from someone very important to him.

With a heavy sigh, Tom turned around to find his other friends, hoping that maybe Marco could provide him with some good advice. He barely walked a few inches before a crab blocked his path, a tiny crab that pinched its claws to show dominance…or at least it tried to "Aww, it's trying to act tough." Tom laughed at the small crustacean. The tiny crab got offended and scurried over to Tom, pinching his ankle with its adorable claws "Ow!" Tom flinched, dropping the shell in the process. The crab spotted the skull shaped shell and hurried over to snag it "Hey that's mine!" Tom shouted after the crab as it carried the seashell away. In his haste, he paid no mind to the changes in the weather around him.

OXOXOXOX

As Janna absentmindedly sipped on her second smoothie, her usually calm friend started aggressively shaking her shoulder "Janna…!" the alarm in her voice caused Janna to jump in her chair "Huh?!" Jackie wordlessly pointed to the store window. The previously nice sunny day had shifted into a massive storm at the drop of a hat.

"Ok yeah I'm not the cause of that." Janna felt the need to clarify.

The girls ran out into the raging winds, getting pelted with an onslaught of rain the moment they left the door "Is this a typhoon?!" Jackie looked around for their other friends. An enormous wall of pink and red magic helped her find the lovebirds.

As everyone else rushed away from the beach, Jackie and Janna pushed through the opposite way to reach Star and Marco as they held up a magical barrier on the coast. On the other end of the glowing wall was a massive torrent of seawater trying to break through and flood the area "Jackie! Janna! Get to safety right now!" Marco shouted when he noticed the girls behind him.

Neither of them listened "Where did this storm come from?!" Janna yelled over the rapid winds. Star tried to look at her friend as she kept the wall steady "From what we could gather from the screaming locals, they call it 'the storm of paradise'. It's some sort of natural disaster that comes every couple of years!"

Star turned back to the wall before them, reinforcing it further with her magic "We got our hands full keeping the water out, you three need to get out of here pronto!" Marco shouted, before realizing something important "Wait-where's Tom!?"

Janna felt her heart sink, Tom wasn't with her, and he wasn't with Star and Marco, so that could only mean…"He's still out there!" Janna gasped. She turned around and ran off to where she last saw him "Janna what are you doing?!" Jackie cried out.

Before she was out of sight, Janna yelled one last thing to her friend "Something really stupid!"

OXOXOXOX

In his chase with the crab, Tom had found himself climbing onto a rocky cliff formation. By now he felt the high winds and the sound of raging waters rang in his ears, but he was not one to back down from some bad weather "When I get you…I'm making you into dinner!" he threatened the crab as it held the shell in its grasp.

Tom pulled himself onto the top of the structure, taking a few deep breaths before he glared at the crustacean "Give me the shell!" he attempted to summon his flames, only for them to be put out in an instant with the ongoing typhoon. He didn't let the lack of power deter him; he lunged at the crab and pulled the shell away from it "Yes!" "Tom!" his victory was cut short as the voice of his crush called his name over the storm "Janna?!" he could just barely make out her blue hair as she climbed onto the same ledge as him.

Tom took a step forward, but the rock formation jiggled. The demon boy stopped moving and kept himself still "Janna don't come up here! The ground is really unstable!" he warned her as she pulled her head up to the top of the rocks.

As she pulled herself up, Janna looked at Tom with concern "Why are you still out here?!"

"This stupid crab stole the shell you gave me!" Tom pointed to the tiny crab, who turned to him offended "Who are you calling stupid?!" The crab responded back, with a deep manly voice. Tom and Janna's jaws practically hit the floor "You can talk?! Why didn't you say anything earlier?!" Tom sputtered in disbelief.

"You never asked." The crab shrugged "But right now, the only thing we need to worry about is destroying that shell!" the crab gestured to the skull shaped shell in the demon's grasp "That is the Calavera, a type of seashell that brings disaster when it washes up on the shore. I was trying to smash it before this typhoon worsens and floods the whole city, but you just had to take it as a little trinket of sorts!"

Janna rolled her eyes "Ugh, how many times am I accidentally going to give one of my friends a cursed item?"

Now understanding the urgency of the matter, Tom tried to burn the shell with his fire, which still failed to stay lit for more than a split second "Well if it won't burn, then smashing's the next best thing." Tom placed the shell on the ground and prepared to stomp on it. The shell rolled out from under his foot and tripped the boy onto his back, cracking the cliff and sending him and the shell falling straight into the sea below.

"Tom!" Janna screamed, hurrying over to where her friend had fallen and searching the waves for any sign of him "Ja-Janna!" she heard his voice, his head was just barely floating above the surface of the water as the waves pushed him in every direction "Tom, fly out of there!" "No fire remember! I can't even get out of the current!" he shouted back.

"Poor kid, caught in the rip tide." The crab solemnly shook its head.

Janna was petrified, there was no way Tom could get out on his own, their other friends couldn't help, which just left Janna as his only hope. Tom really was doomed, Janna had no powers, and even if she wasn't deathly afraid of the ocean, the tide would only suck her in as well.

As Janna ran through her other options, she realized she could no longer see Tom's head above the water "No!" her body moved on its own, the adrenaline coursing through her as she leapt off the edge and into the water overpowered her fear and kept her moving forward.

Upon landing in the water, Janna dove under and instantly spotted Tom desperately trying to swim back to the surface before he ran out of air. Janna tried to swim over, but the currents pulled her further away 'No! I can't fail now!' Janna thought as she pushed against the water 'What good is facing my fear if I end up drowning anyway? I have to keep trying, Tom needs me…' she closed her eyes, focusing on something she couldn't quite grasp 'People always say you gotta dig deep down to find your real power, well…here's hoping I have something like that.'

Janna's eyes shot open, her regular brown eyes could not be seen over the bright white light emitting out of them. A black light pulsed from her heart, sending magic across her entire body. She pulled the magic behind her and forced it to propel her forward towards Tom, ripping right through the current and scattering it into a fog of bubbles. Tom peaked an eye open amidst the bubbles and felt someone grab his back, before launching up to the surface with a pillar of black magic intertwined with the water.

Breaking through the ocean's surface, Tom coughed up whatever water he inhaled as he gasped for air. Once he was able to breathe again, he looked up to find that his savior was none other than Janna. Tom stared in silent awe as Janna took the seashell and crushed it with a burst of magic.

The cloudy sky began to part and the winds died down to a gentle breeze, the crashing waves fell flat as peace returned to the dimension. Star and Marco lowered their shield and searched around them for a reason why the storm had suddenly vanished.

Tom and Janna began to slowly descend towards the ground, only for the magic to shut off and drop the two a couple feet above the ground "Agh!" Tom groaned as his back collided with the rocky ground "What. Was. That?!" Janna stared at her hands with shock, she concentrated for a moment and produced a little spark of black colored magic from her fingers "I…have…MAGIC!" she cheered "This is the coolest thing ever, right Tom?" she suddenly remembered the boy she had just saved "Ohmygosh Tom!" she put her hand on his shoulder, her put his hand atop of hers "I'm good, thanks to you."

"Well thank you for destroying the Calavera." They noticed the crab from earlier inching past them "The next time you see something shaped like a skull, you should probably burn it immediately." The crab retreated to the sea.

The duo blinked silently for a moment, before nonverbally deciding to forget about the talking crab "Man, I still can't believe it." Janna shook her head, smiling "I have magic now, and I overcame my fear of the ocean!"

Tom raised an eyebrow "Fear of the ocean?"

Janna winced "Uh yeah…I may have been traumatized by the ocean when I was little. It's why I ran away earlier, I'm…not too proud to have a fear…oh wait; now I don't have any fears!"

"Wait, that's why you ran away?!" Tom asked surprised "It wasn't because I decided to confess to you out of the blue like that?"

"Yeah it was always the-hold on a second…what?!" Janna did a double take at the demon whose face was redder than his eyes at the moment "You…you were trying to confess…to me?" Janna asked in disbelief.

Tom turned away, not able to meet her eyes "Yeah, I mean…I really like you Janna…like-like you…" Janna's mouth formed a small 'o' shape as she processed his words "Wow…no one's ever said that to me before…" her mouth turned into a grin "So…I'm really glad you're the one saying it."

"Huh?" Tom turned back around, gathering the courage to look her right in the eyes. Janna gave Tom a genuine smile "I sort of…like-like you too." Her face then turned serious "But I don't want any of that mushy couple stuff Star and Marco do, I'd rather have a dead mouse than chocolates or flowers."

Tom smiled back "That's why I like-like you." He moved his head towards hers, pressing his lips against her own. As Janna kissed back, she instantly declared that this was the best day of her life, no fear, her own magic, and a demon boyfriend, what more could she ask for…besides her own zombie army.

OXOXOXOX

"This is incredible!" Star squeeled, by the time the beach was all fixed up, it was already nighttime. As the five of them sat by a campfire, glued to Janna's story and her demonstration of magic, Star was bouncing in her seat and gripping Marco's arm until it was blue "Janna not only are you the first person in Earthni to earn magic, your story finally solved the mystery of how it's done!" she let go of Marco's arm and conjured a bowl and spoon out of light "When Butterfly's dip down inside their selves with powerful feelings, we could use magic without a wand. Now dipping down with your deepest feelings is what triggers the magic inside of anyone!"

Dipping down was difficult for even a Butterfly to do, explaining why so few had earned the right to do magic. Marco glanced at Janna with suspicion "Yeah and people who do wrong lose their magic." "Don't worry Marco, I won't break the rules." Janna responded, not easing Marco's concerns at all.

The hooded boy got up and went to grab his phone out of his backpack, only to feel something slimy and jiggly in his bag instead "Did you put my phone inside of jello?!"

Janna shrugged "It's not against the rules."


	33. Life Is a Highway

**Short chapter today, but it is the first chapter with a time skip.**

**The first half of the story is set right after the Cleave, while this chapter onward will be jumping months or years forward to different events later in their life. In this case a year has passed since the last chapter.**

**To viceversa96: Yeah, Jantom is a great balance to Starco. On the downside Marco is hesitant about going on any double dates with the two.**

**To animegamefanatic: Honestly, Marco never thought Janna would unlock magic. **

* * *

There was never a dull moment in Star Butterfly's life, in the past year she destroyed magic, cleaved Earth and Mewni, recreated magic, and everything in-between. The now 17 year old teenager had finally gotten some time to do regular teenager things.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up!" Star muttered as her phone continued to ring, showing a contact named 'Raiser of the Dead', after a moment of nothing another voice came through on the other line "Sup Star, how's it hanging?" "Hey Janna banana, any chance you could drive me to the pier later? Cloudy's really sick and can't fly me there." Star responded.

"Sorry but I can't." Janna answered "Me and Tom got tickets to see a grudge match between El Grande Burro and Pantalones Fuego today." Janna looked back at the two wrestlers in the ring, one dressed like a donkey and one wearing pants that were constantly on fire "CRUSH HIM FUEGO!" Tom cheer's to Janna's right.

"Alright, well enjoy your date." Star sighed with disappointment as she hung up, flopping down on her bed "Maybe Nachos can take me?" she wondered as she pressed the speed dial for 'Handsome in a Hoodie' and waited for it to ring "Hey Star!" Marco greeted her on the other side "Hey Marco, Can you and Nachos take me to the pier today?" Star asked, hopeful that her boyfriend would pull through for her "Nachos is on vacation at the Dragoncycle spa, remember?" Marco reminded her.

Star groaned "Dang it! How am I supposed to get anywhere?!" she threw herself dramatically onto her pillow "How do humans get around?" she asks out loud.

"They drive a car." Marco replied. Only a second later Marco realized the mistake he had just made "Oh no."

The blonde's eyes lit up with sparkles, her grin stretched from ear to ear "That's it! I'll drive myself around!"

"Is that really the best idea?" Marco wondered, Star stood up with enthusiasm "It is the best idea!" she misunderstood his words. Before she could rush off out of her room, she backtracked to her phone and asked "How do I do it anyway?" "You have to take a driving test, get a permit; there are a lot of steps!" Marco knew there was no convincing her out of this, he loved her determination but it occasionally took a toll on his wellbeing "Look, I'll come over and we can do this together." He might as well get his own license if he's going to be helping Star."

"Awesome! I'll make snacks!" Star closed the phone before Marco could object to that as well "It'll be easy-peasy-taco-breezie!"

OXOXOXOX

A few days of simulations and classes later, Star and Marco waited in line to drive an actual car for the first time. Star was bouncing on her toes while Marco waited anxiously, concerned for what might happen "We're gonna do it Marco! We're finally going to drive!" the blonde was overflowing with excitement.

"Looks like we are." Marco gulped, while Star had done well in the simulator and the written parts of the driving class, getting behind the wheel was a different experience "I can feel it Marco, I can feel the drivers blood coursing through my veins!" Star stared at the cars with absolute focus "What driver's blood? No one in your family has driven before, the closest thing was that time River ate a car!" Marco felt the need to remind her.

"Don't sweat it Marco, it's not like I'm driving Janna's monster truck, this is a regular car with regular instructors." The sound of screeching tires filled the air as two cars came to a stop in front of the couple. The one closest to the two had a bear-like monster with a horn step out of the driver seat "Star Butterfly! Long time no see!" he waved "Bearicorn? You're a driving instructor?!" Star did a double take, the monster nodded "Eeyup! I needed a new hobby after I was kicked off the basketball team."

FLASHBACK

Ludo and his former minions were playing basketball in Ludo's courtyard, as Man-Arm catches the ball he looks in Bearicorn's direction "Catch!" Man-Arm tosses the ball over the rest of the monsters, ready to land in Bearicorn's paws "I got it! I got it!" the ball lands on his horn and deflates with a slow screeching sound "…I got it!"

FLASHBACK OVER

"Good times." Bearicorn happily remembered.

The other car behind him opened up with poorly played keytar music spilling out from inside, a human with abnormally sparkling eyes poked his head up "Star and Mango! How's it hanging?"

"Oskar?!" Marco gaped in bewilderment "Actually, that doesn't surprise me as much as Bearicorn."

Pulling a clipboard out from the front seat, Oskar walked over and squinted at the writing "Huh, it says I'm supposed to be driving with a 'Marco Diaz' is he related to you Mango?" Marco facepalmed in turn "I'm Marco Diaz." "WOAH! PLOT TWIST!" Oskar gasped.

As Oskar led Marco to his car, Bearicorn stepped aside to let Star into the front seat of his "Alright miss Butterfly, what is the first thing you do when you get in a car?" Bearicorn asked, reading off of his own clipboard. Star stared at the dashboard hesitantly "Uhh…" she snapped her fingers as she figured out the answer "Seatbelt!" she pulled hers over and buckled it in place.

"Yay, that's right!" Bearicorn clapped, before remembering he was supposed to be a serious instructor. He put on a pair of glasses to look more serious as he read off the next item on the clipboard "The next thing you do is…" "Adjust the mirrors!" Star recalled her lessons with Marco, shifting the mirror in place so she could see behind her.

As Marco finished the same steps as Star, he glanced at her and crossed his fingers that she would do alright "Miss Butterfly, you may now hit the gas pedal." Bearicorn informed the girl after she had completed the basic steps. As Star slowly gripped the wheel, Marco felt a nervous sweat fall down his face, he crossed his fingers as her foot touched the gas…and the car slowly moved forward like it was supposed to. Star's face erupted into a wide grin, giving a happy nod to Marco as she drove out of the lot.

"Huh, well what do you know?" Marco sighed in relief, he was ecstatic to see Star drive without any wild mishaps getting in the way "Alright Mr. Diaz put the pedal to the metal." Oskar motioned with the pencil in his hand, reminding the boy of his own test underway. Marco gripped the steering wheel and slowly touched the gas pedal.

Oskar's car shot backwards into a pole before anyone could even blink an eye.

OXOXOXOX

"Ok Star, there is a stop sign ahead. What do you do?" Bearicorn asked, Star raised an eyebrow "Uh, stop?" "Correct!" Bearicorn checked off a tally on her test.

The car slowed to a stop in front of the sign, letting a few kids cross over to the other end of the sidewalk "Watch out for pedestrian's…check!" Bearicorn checked off another box.

Meanwhile back with Marco…

After hitting a poll and a wall while exiting the parking lot, Marco finally got the car onto the road. Unfortunately he had gotten on the wrong side of the road "Uhhh-I can fix this!" he shouted. Marco spun the wheel and swerved the car off of the road and onto a nearby lawn. A random Mewman came out of the front door and gasped "My daffodils! NOOOO!" he fell to his knees.

"Sorry!" Marco poked his head out, as he hit the gas dirt sprayed out from under the tires, coating the random Mewman in the corpses of his beloved garden.

The tires screeched as Marco pulled the car back onto the road, looking like a deer in the headlights "Hey Mango, watch out for that deer in the headlights." Oskar calmly suggested. Sure enough there was a deer inches away from being hit by the car, Marco yanked the wheel to the left and slammed into a tree "That's a cute deer." Oskar commented as the woodland animal pranced away.

OXOXOXOX

Star and Bearicorn waited at a traffic light that seemed to never want to change to green. Star tapped her fingers on the dashboard as she waited for the change "Come on, turn green already!" Star pouted.

The light finally switched to green, Star signaled passed through to the next street "Good job Star." Bearicorn complimented "It's all thanks to Marco, he spent a lot of time helping me study. I bet he's doing even better than me right now." Star responded.

"Why did things turn out like this?"

Marco stood in front of the car that was currently submerged in a pond; he pulled it up with his magic and conjured a giant hairdryer with a face to dry it off. Oskar sat close by on a bench, his clipboard in hand and a ferret in his lap "Hey Gene, can you make out what this says?" Oskar lowered the clipboard to the ferret's level. Gene squeaked and pointed at the paper "Oh!" Oskar flipped the board around "I had it upside down! Thanks Gene!" he gave his furry friend a pet on the head.

Marco groaned as he listened to his instructor talking to his pet "The cars dry, let's get back to the test." The boys and ferret filed into the car as Marco strapped himself back in and hit the gas, rocketing them out of the park and back onto the road.

Seeing how stressed Marco was, Oskar gave him a pat on the shoulder "Chillax Mango, let the car take control and stay calm." "I AM CALM!" Marco shouted, just before hitting a fire hydrant. Water burst from the pipe and showered the car "Cool, free car wash!" Oskar smiled. Marco's cheeks flickered with a red spark as he held in his frustration.

OXOXOXOX

"So the last thing on the list is…parallel parking!" Bearicorn held his paper an inch from his face as he struggled to read the writing. Star searched the streets for an open spot to park in, turning the corner she found a space between two trucks in front of the cupcake store "Ooh, bonus." Star licked her lips.

Getting close, Star maneuvered the car carefully as she positioned it between the two large trucks. With her tongue poking out of the tip of her mouth, she had complete focus as she expertly parked without touching either of the vehicles.

Bearicorn checked off the last box and did a tiny clap "Congratulations Star Butterfly! You pass!" Star cheered as well "Aw yeah, I did it, I did it!" she moved in a little victory dance "You know what this calls for-""CUPCAKES!" both of them yelled.

Back with Marco…

"Something's not right about this…"

"Is it the fact the car is upside down and dangling above a large cliff?"

"Aw yeah, that's it!"

Somehow Marco's driving had led to the car not only being flipped upside down, but also halfway over the edge of a cliff. Oskar nonchalantly checked off a box on his list while Marco tried his best not to hyperventilate "I can fix this, I can fix this, I can-""Why don't you just hit the flip button?" Oskar mentioned, pointing to a strange red button on the dashboard "The what?" Marco flatly asked "You know the flip button! I had it installed after my car got flipped like this too many times."

Throwing logic out the window, Marco pressed the button and hoped for the best. A giant spring emerged from the backseat and sent the car flying into the sky, leaving one boy screaming in terror and one screaming with glee. As the car reached to the ground, Marco saw an open space between two cars a little ways away "Bounce Back Bumper!" Marco poked his head out of the window and shot a spell at the back of the car, creating a bounce pad that sent the car heading towards the street he wanted. Once the wheels hit the pavement, Marco gripped the wheel and turned towards the open space. He kept on maneuvering the wheel until he managed to decently park right between the two cars.

"I-I did it! I safely parked the car!" Marco cheered, seconds before the wheels deflated and the car fell a few inches shorter. Marco hit his forehead against the steering wheel as he dreaded his results "I gotta say Mango, you did really well."

"I'm sorry, what?" Marco did a double take. Oskar passed the clipboard to him and he read through all of the notes (surprisingly written in cursive) as Oskar kept talking "Yeah man, you're a better driver than I am! This car has lived through so many crashes since I fished it out of the sinkhole at Britta's Tacos. I've been told it that not a single thing is connected correctly and it can't steer or stop correctly. But you took the bull by the horns and you drove! The bull is the car by the way."

Marco looked at Oskar hopefully "Does this mean I pass?"

"Oh absolutely not! You used magic to turn the car mid-air, magic invalidates the test." Oskar answered.

Marco sat with his jaw open wide as Oskar got out of the car and walked off "See you for your next test Mango!"

OXOXOXOX

Walking out of the DMV, Star held her license in one hand and a mountain of cupcakes in the other. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Marco walking in the opposite direction "Hey Marco I did it! How'd you do?"

Marco kept on walking "I'm sticking with Nachos."


	34. Because You Live

**Welcome back! It's been over a year since I started writing this and its only just passed the halfway mark! For this milestone I will now be uploading pages of sketches onto my Deviantart and Tumblr pages which can be found on my profile. Sketches will be uploaded a few hours before each chapter, its mainly character and costume designs but sadly since I don't have a scanner and my only art program is Microsoft paint...I apologize in advance for the quality.**

**To viceversa96: Go right ahead! I'll be uploading specific costumes and character designs each chapter but not many scenes from the story. Cheers!**

**To 123: I'm not sure who made the trope page but I am happy they did! I'd love if more people added to it (I don't because it doesnt feel right to do it for my own story) as for my twitter the link is in my profile!**

* * *

The warm summer months have come to an end, a chilly autumn wind takes its place as colorful leaves flow through the air. At this time of year, students move from one grade to the next, some to new schools as they graduate from their old one. In Earthni, all the excitement was centered on Echo Creek College, namely two of the new students attending this year.

17-almost 18-year old Star Butterfly stood in awe as she stared up at the tall building in front of her "It's like a hotel or something." She muttered. A strained grunt reminded her that she was not alone at the moment "Would you mind grabbing your box Star?" Marco struggled to keep the three large cardboard boxes in his arms from falling forward. Star grabbed the one on the top "Sorry bout that."

While her boyfriend had graduated out of high school early, he had decided to wait until Star was finished with her homeschooling before going off to college. With his grades he could have chosen any place he wanted, but he couldn't bear the thought of going to college without Star. The fact that it was the only college in Earthni may have had another hand in the decision.

The couple walked into the dorm housing and headed to the third floor, they found their room at the end of the hallway as Star excitedly unlocked the door before kicking it open "Our new home!" Star hurried and dropped her box of stuff on the table. It was a small suite with a couch, TV and kitchen in one room and a bedroom and bathroom in the other.

Marco set his own boxes down as he watched his girlfriend run around exploring the dorm "This is amazing! We can stay up late and watch movies, we can eat cake for breakfast, we have unlimited freedom!" the blonde rushed back to her lover and intertwined their fingers as she happily bounced on her feet "Well there are a few rules…" Marco reminded her, she didn't seem to care however as she wrapped him in a huge hug "Who cares! I'm just so happy to be living together again!"

"How did you convince the dean to let us share a room anyway?" Marco wondered.

"I can be very persuasive."

OXOXOXOX

The dean of the college is sitting at his desk, watching a toy bird repeatedly dip it's beak into a cup of water "Marvelous!"

OXOXOXOX

Unpacking the boxes the two had brought, Marco began putting his personal belongings away in a drawer and half of the closet "I can't believe I'm a college student!" "I told ya you'd make it." Star lightly elbowed him as she put her own stuff away, including the cape he had made her "Do you have any idea what you wanna do yet?"

Marco had thought about the answer to that question countless times since she first asked him two years ago and after all this time… "I still don't have an answer." He admitted. Being with Star was the only thing he knew for sure that he wanted, the same went for her as well "Same here and that is why…" Star pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and shoved it in Marco's face "Is this your schedule?!" his eyes went over the page a dozen times, trying to make sense of what was before him. Star had always made it well known that she did not enjoy schoolwork in the least, but her schedule was filled with nothing but educational classes without a single fun one in sight "Are you sure this is correct?" Marco double checked with his girlfriend.

Star folded her arms over her chest proudly "Eeyup! I am a college student now, so I have to be a grown up and learn boring stuff!"

Marco looked at her skeptically "This seems like a lot of work, I don't think even I could keep up with all of this." Star yanked the paper out of his hand "Just you watch Mr. Smartie pants, I am going to rock at this!"

TWO DAYS LATER

Star came entered the dorm room wearing a sombrero on her head, math equations scribbled on her arms and a tiny sentient printer gnawing on her shoes. Marco watched wordlessly as Star sat down at the laptop and simply told him "I need to make some schedule changes…"

OXOXOXOX

Three months in and Star and Marco had finally settled into a steady pace with their college life. Both were taking a handful of classes that covered an entire spectrum of subjects, the two of them decided to throw stuff at the wall and see what stuck. Marco made sure to remind Star that the phrase was not literal and she shouldn't throw stuff at their wall.

After a long period in History 101, the professor finally dismissed the class to leave for the day. As all the students packed their bags, the professor made her way over to one of her students with noticeable hearts on her cheeks "Ms. Butterfly, I'd like to talk to you for a minute."

Star froze "I was framed!" she blurted out.

"No, no, you're not in trouble." The professor chuckled "I wanted to ask you about an opportunity." Star blinked "Uh…alright." She got up and stood beside her teacher "One of my kids showed me your website about magic; I have to say it's really fascinating what you have been able to accomplish with it."

Star shrugged "I've had a long time to get things right."

"The campus has an open slot for a guest speaker next week for our diversity program, and some of the faculty members wanted you to do a seminar about how magic works." The professor explained to a speechless Star "Woah woah hang on a minute, why not ask my mom or the queen about magic? They've used it longer than I have."

The professor put a gentle hand on her shoulder "Yes but you are the one who started the Glossaryck dot com website and have been helping magic users all over the globe, and that is only one of the dozens of things I have heard you accomplished." Star avoided eye contact, she often forgot how not-normal her life was "Well…I guess it couldn't hurt." The blonde decided "Sure, why not?" "Fantastic!" the professor handed a document to her student "Here are the guidelines on what you need for the seminar, email me back the day before if there is anything specific you need."

Scanning her eyes over the document, Star felt she may have made a mistake "Oh boy…"

THAT EVENING

"Hey Star, I got pizza!" Marco poked his head into the bedroom door, lifting the dinner he stopped to grab on his way back from class. Star jumped up and abandoned whatever she was previously doing and ran over to Marco and gave him a huge hug. Marco held the pizza in one hand and wrapped the other around her back "Stressed?" "Totally."

Reluctantly letting go of her boyfriend (and his abs that were making good progress) Star slumped down at the table and stuffed a large slice of pizza in her mouth "My history teacher convinced me to do a magic lecture for the campus next week. I thought I'd only have to go up and talk for a little bit and answer questions, but apparently I have to put together this entire presentation that lasts like over an hour!" Star vented between bites.

"Hey, that's not such a big deal. I can help you with it." Marco helpfully suggested "When is the lecture?"

"Wednesday from one to two thirty, you'll be in psychology then." Star regretfully informed him. Marco's face fell "Oh..." he would be in class long after her lecture was over, killing any chance of him being there for support "I can still help you prepare before then."

A tiny smile graced Star's lips "I appreciate the offer Marco…but I can't ask for your help. I have to be able to do this on my own; I'm the one who agreed to it after all." Marco gazed at her with a proud warmth in his eyes, he had complete faith in her to succeed "I know you'll do great."

The rest of the week passed by quickly, Star worked on her presentation every day once her classes were finished. True to her word, she did all the work by herself, Marco would walk in and she'd be writing notes or making a slideshow on the computer. Marco encouraged her however he could, whether it was making her some hot chocolate with multiple packets of sugar or just letting her listen to his heartbeat. The night before he had come in late and found her fast asleep at the table, surrounded by piles of text. Marco grabbed the cape he had made her and draped it over her figure, giving her a kiss on the forehead as well.

It was finally time, Star stood behind a dark red curtain as she peaked out into the audience. Dozens of students and staff sat eager for the lecture to begin. Even with all of her preparation, Star was really nervous "Don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up…" her phone pinged in her pocket. She pulled it out and read a text from Marco "I believe in you Star, you'll do great." That one text was all she needed for the anxiety to melt away. She briefly hugged her phone to her chest before putting it away and stepping on stage.

All eyes were on Star as she stepped up to the podium, Star looked out to the audience confidently and started speaking "So who here is ready to learn about magic?"

LATER

As soon as his class was dismissed, Marco rushed over to where the lecture had been held. Even though it had been over for half an hour, there were still people hanging around and talking about Star's seminar. Marco searched the crowd until he was able to spot a devil horn headband sitting atop golden hair "Star!"

Star turned as she heard Marco call her name, she grinned and practically jumped into his arms as they collided in a hug "I did it! I put on an entire lecture all by myself and people actually liked it!" she felt Marco stroke the back of her hair "I knew you'd do great." "Honestly Marco, it was like when I learned to ride a bike." Marco raised an eyebrow "Explain?" "You believing in me is all I need."

Pulling apart, the couple held hands as they walked down the hall "How about we ditch this place and go get some sushi?" Star suggested.

"Whatever you say Professor Butterfly." Marco remarked back to her.

OXOXOXOX

Before either of the two had realized, their first year of college was already coming to a close. With final's only two weeks away, Star was enjoying some time off before the endless study session that was to follow.

"Isn't this nice Marco, just doing nothing all day!" Star flopped her head over the bedside as her vision turned upside down. Marco sat close by as he scrolled through his phone "You sure you just wanna be lazy today?" "Totally."

Marco stopped on a webpage and held it upside down for Star to see "So you're not interested in going to the pre-final's party the student council is throwing?" the word 'party' instantly grabbed the blondes attention as she flipped right side up and grabbed the phone "There's a party today?! Why did no one tell me?!" Star pushed herself off of the bed and grabbed her boyfriend's hand "Why are we just lazing around here when we can be partying the roof off!"

"Hang on; it doesn't start for a couple more hours!" Marco informed the eager Mewman.

"Come on, what harm would a little peak do?" Star rolled her eyes, dragging the boy behind her as she opened the window and held her arm out "Summoning Cloudy Charm!" a purple cloud with wings and a face materialized and greeted the pair "Where to Star?" "Wherever the heck that party's gonna be!" Star instructed her summon as she and Marco climbed onto him "Why couldn't we just take the stairs?" Marco wondered, Cloudy shot him a dirty look "SOME OF US NEED A PURPOSE OKAY!"

Hovering over the campus, Star scanned the grounds for any signs of a party. To her dismay, everything looked like it usually did "That's odd…" Marco remarked. The two kept their eyes peeled for any sort of decoration "I think I found it." Cloudy spoke. The spell lowered them to an open door with a single balloon hanging from the doorknob. Star and Marco landed and took a peek inside the door, finding an empty conference room with a handful of chairs placed randomly and a single table with a bowl of non-brand name cheese puffs on top.

Decorations hung limply on the walls and looked like they were designed by a class of kindergarteners "This doesn't look like a party…" Star commented.

"Out of the way, secretary coming through!" a boy slightly older than them with blonde hair and a blue plaid shirt ran past with a boom box. The boy placed it on the stage and pressed the power button, crossing his fingers as he prayed for it to start up. The music coming from the boom box was fuzzy like an old radio and the music playing was a strange German folk song. The boy hung his head in defeat "Well it's better than nothing."

The couple cautiously approached the guy that seemed like he was a second away from a nervous breakdown "Uh is this where the party's going to be?" Marco asked. The boy held back tears as he answered "It should be…but things aren't going so great." He stepped off of the stage and introduced himself "I'm Trevor, the student council secretary."

"Hi, I'm Marco!" "And I'm Star!" the two greeted the boy. Trevor's eyes widened as he heard Star's name "Wait, you're Star! You're the girl the president is always talking about! Maybe you can help us!" Trevor grabbed the pair and led them to the student council office a few rooms down the hall. Inside the office there were a bunch of other students talking over each other as they panicked and argued "Hey President, I-""Not now Trevor! I'm in the middle of-STAR BUTTERFLY!" a girl turned around in the middle of the room, she had short brown hair and bedazzled hearts on her face below her glasses.

"Starfan13!" Star gasped, running over to hug her old friend "I didn't know you were the student council president!"

"Yeah this is pretty recent actually." Starfan13 admitted "Two months ago the old president lost his leg and I got bumped up from vice president. He still hasn't found the leg so my new position became permanent."

Tapping Starfan13 on the shoulder, Trevor got the president's attention "The boom box is static and the music is polka, we can't have a party at this rate."

Starfan13 gasped "Polka! Oh no this is our darkest hour…" the brunette gripped Star's hands tightly and looked to her with tearful eyes "Star you have to help us!"

"Um could you explain what's wrong first?" Star asked "We have no idea what's going on."

Starfan13 took a deep breath, calming her nerves before she spoke "This party was the first thing that I was completely in charge of, I planned everything to be perfect." She took out her notebook and flipped to a page titled 'party plans' "It was going great, I had everything all planned out and it looked good on paper! But making it actually happen was a different story."

"The president was so busy planning the party, she forgot to tell us about it until this morning when we all saw the announcement on the website." Trevor added "Even an emergency meeting couldn't help us prepare what she had planned, everything kind of fell into chaos after that." He gestured to the other students as they shouted and one girl was huddled in a fetal position under her desk.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Marco looked around "We've only known about this much shorter than the rest of them."

Starfan13 hung her head down sadly "I'm…I'm not a leader…or party planner. I'm a follower and a professional stalker; I can't handle all this pressure! All the parties you've thrown were completely crazy and unforgettable, and Marco is so organized he understands the metric system! Please help me fix this mess, Star Butterfly you are my only hope!"

The blonde teen and her boyfriend were taken aback for a moment, but quickly smiled at their old friend and nodded "No way a former member of the bounce crew is going to let a party be lame! We are going to save this party and make it so awesome that people will speak of it as a college legend!" their bespectacled friend wiped the tears from her eyes and gratefully hugged her idol "You are the greatest person to ever exist!"

After ten minutes Star and Marco rounded all the students up and brought them into the meeting room as they stood in front of a whiteboard "Student Council of Echo Creek College, my name is Star and this is Marco, your president informed us about the party situation and we are going to get this situation under control and get the party out of control!"

One girl near the front raised her hand "How do you expect us to put together a crazy party in less than two hours?! We don't have any food or entertainment!"

Marco grabbed a black pen and quickly wrote a list onto the board as Star responded to the girl "I'm getting to that. The two of us along with your president have divided up everything we need and will organize teams to get each part done. You're up Marco." She stepped aside for her boyfriend to take center stage "We'll be splitting up into four teams, team one will get the snacks, team two takes care of the decorations, team three has the entertainment and team four will stay in the party room and set up what the other teams bring." Marco switched his black marker out for three others in different colors. He began writing a list of names in different colors and underlying each of the aforementioned teams with a different color "Whatever color your name is written in, it means you are in one of each group. If your name is written in red then you come with me and help get the food ready. Green goes with Star and decorates the room, and Blue goes with your president to get music and equipment."

As everyone settled into their groups, Marco passed a note to Starfan13 "At such short notice, this will be the best way to get audio equipment." He informed her with regret. Starfan13 didn't seem to be bothered by it "Sweet! Maybe she'll do a livestream of the party!"

Marco beckoned to his group and rushed them into the hallway and Star took the others to the party room. Everyone groaned when they saw the state the room was in "We don't have anything to fix this with, are we supposed to just make decorations out of thin air?" one boy questioned. Star held out her hand "You could say that." Her palms lit up with magenta colored magic "Arts and Crafts Party Favors!" with a blast of magic Star had created another table full of decorations and art supplies. The other students were in awe "Can't you just fix the whole room with magic?" another kid asked as Star grabbed a glue gun and a jar of glitter "I could, but this is your party. It would feel empty to fix it all with a single spell, I should know better than anyone that magic doesn't fix everything." She beckoned for the others to follow her lead as they sat around the table and put the decorations together while Star got up and started fixing the chairs. Two other students saw her working alone and stood up to help move the chairs with her.

Within no time everything was starting to come together, Star used her magic to place the streamers and banners up on the ceiling as the rest of the group finished setting up. Marco walked in with a giant plate of his nachos and other snacks he helped his group whip up, finding a long table set aside for them "Where'd this come from?" Trevor wondered as he set down a s'more's platter, one of the students fixed the cloth under the table as she answered "Star had the idea to use the table from the council room, we all pitched in and lifted it from the office."

"Yo what up party people!" the doors flung open as a floating horse head entered the room, followed by Starfan13's group as they wheeled in stereo's and a turntable "We got the music!" Starfan13 announced.

Marco approached her and took her aside "Good job, but did you have to bring Pony?" "Of course I did! Pony Head is a certified DJ, haven't you been watching The Pony Head Show?" no one had the heart to tell Starfan13 that she was the only regular viewer, the rest of her group silently prayed the Pony could actually DJ with no limbs of any sort.

"I can't believe it…" Trevor looked around in amazement as he and Star approached the two on the side "This is actually a party now, not the party you originally planned but it still looks great Darcy!" Starfan13's eyes widened as she pointed a finger into Trevor's face "NEVER CALL ME THAT, I AM STARFAN13!" 'Starfan13' felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked back to see Star smiling at her "Aw, I think Darcy's a cute name." "…DARCY IT IS!" Starf-Darcy declared.

And so the party went off without a hitch, Pony Head was a surprisingly good DJ and people were having a great time. Star and Marco finally took a break from dancing after the twenty-eighth song and stood back by the food table as they munched on some nacho's "My only regret is that we had to use pre-made cheese sauce…" Marco sighed, Star just kept on munching "Still awesome though."

"Oh my gosh you guys!" Darcy stumbled off of the dance floor and stood beside her hero "This party is perfect! If it weren't for you guys we'd be listening to polka!"

Star blushed "It wasn't just us, we all made this happen."

Darcy denied her humble response "No way! You guys got everyone organized and motivated, something I haven't been able to do as student president. The elections for next semester are coming up soon; I think you two would be way better at this than someone like me." Surprised by what she said, Star and Marco looked to each other thoughtfully "I kind of like the sound of that, think we should give it a shot?" Marco admitted as he held one of Star's hands. The blonde was quiet for a moment before making her decision "Yeah, I think we should."

OXOXOXOX

Sure enough, the following semester Marco and Star had been elected president and vice-president of the college student council. It did add an extra workload on top of their classes, but somehow they managed…most of the time.

"-and that class is why we don't discuss the eighth book in the 'Cyber-Beethoven' series." An English professor finished explaining to the class as he erased the white board "Now for our next book we-"the door swung open and a heavily panting and sweating from exhaustion "Mr. Diaz you are an hour late!" "I'm sorry professor, there was an emergency at the-"Marco tried to explain his tardiness but the professor held his hand up "There is no excuse for being late, you will take a point deduction and sit down."

Marco trudged his way to his regular seat and slumped down in his chair "At least it can't get any worse." He muttered.

"I almost forgot!" the professor smacked his forehead "I graded your last tests this morning, I'll be passing them forward while we discuss our next reading assignment." He handed a stack of papers to the students in the front row, each person grabbing their paper and passing their stack to the person behind them. By the time the stack of paper was in Marco's possession, he picked out his paper and passed it on. A bright red 'B-'was stamped on the front "I have to stop tempting fate."

Once class was dismissed, Marco was prepared to leave quietly and make his way back to the dorm room 'Space Unicorn, Soaring through the stars' his ringtone played from inside his pocket. The caller ID said 'Council Room' as he took the phone call "Hello-" "President you have to come down here!" a female voice shouted on the other end, hurting his ears with the volume "Slow down Sabrina, what's going on?"

"Cory and Todd were fighting over who could use the printer first, but they accidentally dropped a soda on it and it caught fire!" hearing this, Marco sprinted off to the council room as he continued to speak "Sabrina, there is a fire extinguisher near the filing cabinet! Grab it and-""The fire is already out, but the sprinklers came on and ruined a bunch of other papers." Sabrina informed him. Marco slowed down and pinched the bridge between his eyes "Great, any chance we have backups on those?" "No, we need you to come back in and help rewrite the information…also…"

"…What?..." he knew there was more to come "During all the commotion something fell into Davi's tank and electrocuted him…" Perfect, now he has a dead office fish to deal with on top of everything else "Great, just great. I'll be there in five minutes." He hung up, pushing down his screams of frustration as he sped off to deal with ruined work and dead goldfish.

FOUR HOURS LATER

An out of order sign hangs on the elevator in the student dorm rooms, from the staircase beside it the sounds of wet socks flopping against the stairs echoed as a soaking wet Marco Diaz reached his floor "Hopefully those guys will listen to me the next time I tell them my magic can't bring a fish back to life." He mumbled as he marched through the hall, leaving a trail of water behind him.

Turning the doorknob on his room, Marco was instantly dried off by a gust of wind that blew from the kitchen area "Marco close the door before they escape!" he heard his girlfriend shout to him. Slamming the door shut behind him, Marco noticed a small army of small black shapes jumping around the room. Picking one up in his hands he found that it was a '8' that was somehow alive.

"Are these things numbers?!" "Yeah…a whole textbook worth of them…" Star sheepishly admitted as she swung a piece of paper at a couple "Star, I thought we talked about no magic homework shortcuts!" Marco gathered more numbers in his arms as he tried to keep the ones he had already caught from escaping "I know! I actually finished already but then I sneezed and some magic came out and brought the math to life!" the blonde smacked a bunch with her paper and they were reabsorbed into the page "Catch them with paper, it changes them back!"

Marco quickly put up a bubble shield around the ones he had already caught as he grabbed a piece of paper from the kitchen table "Let's subtract these guys." Marco's determined glare scared off some of the smaller numbers scattering off in different directions.

After catching the numbers he bubbled, Marco moved on to the ones jumping on the couch as he dove on top of them with the paper on his chest. Star folded a few sheets into ninja stars and tossed them at the numbers hiding on the fridge "Better 'Eight' than never!" she quipped.

A cluster of numbers inside the shower found themselves cornered as Marco slammed another page down on them "I got more 'four' you!" he folded the page into a paper airplane and shot it over to Star "Not much of a pun there." "There is a limit to how many math based puns I can come up with at the moment!"

One by one the two of them added to their sum of numbers, until a lone zero was the only remainder "Three-"Star took a step forward "Two-"Marco straightened out a sheet of paper "One-"Star punted the zero across the room and directly into Marco's paper "Zero!" they congratulated themselves with a high five, bringing the page to the others as the dozens of numbers were laid out in random clumps on the pages.

"I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna get those back into the textbook." Star slumped against the wall, Marco doing the same as he sat next to her "We can use mine as a guide, it still has all the numbers in it." He suggested "So you finished your math work without any help?" "Yep, I shoved it in the fridge so the little guys wouldn't mess it up." Star proudly told him "I wanted to surprise you when you got back so we could blow off study time tonight and eat some ice cream. Somehow we ended up going over math anyway."

Marco laughed "Yeah, you are the only person who could bring math to life by sneezing on it."

"Alright enough about me, how was your day Marco?" Star looked up at him with her innocent blue eyes, sending a tender warmth to his chest as he brushed his hand over hers "It sucked, it really, really sucked." He chuckled honestly "But coming home to you makes it all worth it." Star cooed and pulled Marco into a tight hug, snuggling her head under his chin as they continued to laugh over the usual magic shenanigans. Only Star could ever make him laugh like this after such a crappy day, she truly was the light of Marco Diaz's life, in that moment Marco made a decision.


	35. You'll Be in My Heart

**It's time for another new chapter! The third page of my art for the story will be posted late tomorrow afternoon on my tumblr and deviantart account with a permalink to the series on my twitter.**

* * *

_Ding-Dong_

Angie could hear the doorbell ring from back in her bedroom. She finished brushing her hair and ran over to open the door "Marco, Star!" she opened her arms out as her oldest child and his girlfriend were pulled into a hug "Hi Mrs. Diaz!" Star returned the hug, while Marco was turning red with embarrassment "Mom, you don't have to pull us into a bear hug every time we come over."

Releasing the teens, Angie brushed off his comment "Oh don't act like you're too old for a mother's hug. Just because you're in college doesn't mean you're not my little boy."

"Marco!" a high pitched voice shouted from up the stairs, turning everyone's attention to the toddler rushing down the stairs "Mariposa!" Marco bent down as his little sister jumped into his arms for a hug, earning a smug look from his mother.

"Aw, you've gotten so big Mariposa!" Star cooed as the little girl let go of Marco and gave her a hug next "I missed you too Star!" Mariposa happily greeted her.

As Mr. Diaz entered the room, struggling to tie his tie, his wife and son came up beside him and turned to the girls "Thanks for agreeing to babysit Mariposa while I take my parents out to dinner." Marco sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he met his girlfriend's eyes "Are you kidding, I love Mariposa! Oh we are going to have the best girl's night tonight!" Star motioned to a large bag on her side "I got all the essentials in here!"

Star and Mariposa waved goodbye to the other Diaz's as they left in the car, leaving the girls on their own in the house. The moment Star closed the front door she felt an eager tug on her skirt "Star, Star, can you do the magic now?!" Mariposa was bouncing on her feet, unable to wait much longer to see magic "Sure thing kiddo! What are you in the mood for?" "Bubbles and slides!" Mariposa answered immediately, the youngest Diaz had clearly been eager to do magic stuff as soon as Star stepped through the door.

The girls ran into the living room as Star held her hand out "Soapy Suds Bubble Slide!" pink bubbles filled the room in an instant with a long bubble slide winding around the area. Star lifted Mariposa up onto the bubble slide and sent the three year old racing down the pink bubbles. Mariposa joyfully laughed as the slide took her around the room several times before coming to a stop in a bubbly cloud. The toddler lifted her head out of the bubbled and clapped "Do it again!" Star happily obliged and lifted her back up to the top of the slide, only this time Star used her magic to change the course of the bubbles as Mariposa slid down, creating a nonstop ride that filled the house with bubbles and laughter.

Eventually the girls laid on their backs as the last of the bubbles popped "Ah, these kinds of spells really take me back to the old days." Star felt a twinge of nostalgia pass, remembering the days when she would use magic to liven up the house instead of using it as a reading light for late night study sessions.

Mariposa pulled her head up and looked at her babysitter hopefully "Will I get magic when I'm older?"

Sitting upright, Star tussled her hair as she tried her best to give an answer "I hope so, if you can dip down from the bottom of your heart then you can use magic."

The younger girl pouted "How come Meteora got it already?"

"Well before me and your brother remade magic, Meteora was born with the old stuff. That's why she has clovers on her cheeks and can already use magic." Star explained, though Mariposa still pouted "No fair."

Hoping to get the girl's mind off of magic, Star brought out her phone and prepared a number to call "Will some pizza make it better?" Mariposa brightened up again at the mention of pizza "Extra peppers please!"

OXOXOXOX

With dinner finished, Star grabbed the empty pizza box and paper plates and dropped them in the trashcan "Kitchen's clean, so now the fun can continue!" the blonde made her way back into the living room and found Mariposa watching something on TV "What'cha watchin'?" Star knelt down to her level.

"Crime show!" Mariposa pointed happily to the police chase on screen. Hearing gunshots and shouting in the background, Star seemed unsure "Do your parents let you watch this?" "Nope!" Mariposa honestly answered "...well we can watch for a few minutes. But if it gets too bad I have to turn it off, Marco already lectured me on what's appropriate for babies to watch." Star took a seat on the floor besides Mariposa.

Thankfully the show didn't get violent; Star didn't pay as much attention to the screen as she did the young toddler whose eyes were glued to it "They got the robber!" she cheered as the man onscreen got himself stuck inside a giant doughnut on the top of a doughnut shop as he tried to escape.

As the show came to an end, Star reached into her bag and picked out a couple of DVD's "Wanna see a movie now?" Mariposa nodded and reached for a superhero movie 'Titanium Guy' "I like this one!" Star put the DVD in the player and sat back down "You're really into crime-fighters aren't ya?" "Yep! They aren't afraid of anything!" Mariposa told her "I wanna be brave like you and my brother; no evil will stand a chance against Mariposa Diaz!"

Mariposa quickly got up and scurried over to the table in the other room, grabbing a drawing and showing it to Star. Crayon squiggles formed the shape of two small girls fighting a giant creature in a dress "One day me and Meteora are gonna save the world from bad guys like the Heinous!"

The young girl didn't seem to notice the awkward expression Star had when she heard the last part "Oh, you still believe that story Pony told you…" once all of the dimensions had become reconnected, the alumni of St. Olga's started spreading a story about the ex-headmistress. Like most rumors the details became exaggerated as the story spread until 'The Heinous' had become a boogeyman like figure to little princesses "Yep! I'm not afraid of it, and Meteora said she'd destroy the Heinous if she ever found it!" Mariposa boasted unaware of the dramatic irony.

"You know there's more to being a hero than beating up bad guys." Star attempted to steer the conversation into a different topic "Like going on adventures?" Mariposa's eyes sparkled.

"Exactly!" Star winked at her "How about I take you on a little adventure after the movie?" Mariposa jumped up and beamed from ear to ear "REALLY! CAN WE GO NOW? CAN WE GO NOW?" the toddler insisted as she tugged on Star's arm.

Seeing her enthusiasm, Star couldn't help but give in to the little kid "Alright, we can watch a movie anytime." The blonde switched off the TV before leading Mariposa into the backyard "Let me think, what's a fun adventure she can't get hurt on?" Star pondered to herself. Racking her brain of all the dimensions that she knew of, a perfect place came to mind "I got it!" the hearts on her cheeks lit up in a vibrant pink as the magic inside of Star focused and formed a portal, Mariposa in awe at the sight "Woah~"

Taking her tiny companion's hand, Star walked the two of them into the portal. Mariposa shielded her eyes as the new world was blindingly bright compared to the dark night on Earthni "Mariposa, look." The youngest Diaz blinked her eyes as they adjusted to the beautiful sight before her.

The entire world was made of a plush fabric like a colorful quilt. The trees, the rivers, the mountains were all made of patchwork designs. From what Mariposa could see, the inhabitants of the dimension were all living teddy bear creatures that frolicked freely through the land "Where are we?" Mariposa wondered.

"The Mofuwa dimension, where everything is sewn together like a handmade blanket!" Star announced "Since everything is soft, it's impossible to get hurt here. So I don't have to worry about dropping you."

"Dropping me?" Mariposa repeated with a tilt of her head.

Holding her arms out once more, Star cast another spell "Fluttering Fairy Flight!" her magical power surrounded her and briefly formed a cocoon of light around her body. The cocoon broke and Star emerged with a large pair of pink butterfly wings on her back, similar to the ones she previously had in her butterfly mode "Let's fly!" she scooped the little girl up in her arms and took off into the sky.

Flying over the plush landscape, Mariposa laughed with glee as she felt the wind against her face. Passing through a cotton cloud, the two were greeted to a winding canyon on the other side. Star did a barrel roll as they dodged the stuffed stalagmites that stuck out of the fuzzy river, with every twist and turn Star flew into rolls and flips as she kept a tight hold on Mariposa. Coming into a narrow cavern, Star dipped to the side as the tip of her wing glided on top of the water. Exiting the cave Star made a sharp turn upward and spiraled high into the sky, stopping when they passed the clouds so Mariposa could see the world below "This is the coolest!"

The rollercoaster of a flight continued until they took a seat on the top of a plush mountain, Star withdrew her wing spell and sat beside Mariposa as their legs swung over the ledge "How was that for an adventure?" Star asked the tiny girl "The best Star! You are the best!" Mariposa cheered "Can you be my sister? Then you could stay with me and do this all the time!"

"Oh Mariposa!" Star's eyes shimmered as she pulled her into a big hug "I wish I could, but-""I know, you and Marco got college." Mariposa sighed sadly, most of her friends at daycare lived with their older siblings, and she wished Marco would too. It felt like the visits from her big brother were happening less and less as of lately, she couldn't remember the times when they lived in the same house. Star lifted Mariposa's chin upwards to look her in the eyes "I would love having a sister and taking her on all sorts of adventures, but I'm growing up, which means I have a lot of responsibilities now. I love spending time with you and that won't change, even if we can't see each other every day. Marco always talks about you back home, he wishes he could watch you grow up day by day."

"He does?" Mariposa cheered up a little "Yeah, he's really proud to be your big brother, and I am proud to be your honorary big sister!" Star kept her arms around her for a few minutes longer, until she heard a yawn from the younger girl and knew it was time to head home.

OXOXOXOX

"Hey, we're back!" Marco called out as he opened the front door, his mother a few steps behind him. Star quickly shushed her boyfriend as she motioned to the sleeping kid on the couch "Don't wake her!" Star whisper-shouted.

Giving Star a peck on the cheek, Marco asked "Did you guys have fun?" "Do you even have to ask?" Star retorted, before noticing that Mr. Diaz hadn't come inside yet "What happened to your dad?"

"He's in the car." Mrs. Diaz answered "He got a little emotional at dinner…" she peaked out the window to see her husband crying in the car, she could read his lips saying 'life is beautiful!' as he wept "But enough about that! It's getting late and you two have classes tomorrow!"

Star looked up at the clock and realized Mrs. Diaz was right. Saying goodbye, Star climbed on board Nachos with Marco as they flew back to the dorms. Mrs. Diaz waved goodbye until the two were out of her sight, then she gave her attention to her other child as she carried her up to her bed "…Big Sis Star…" Mariposa mumbled in her sleep. Angie smiled to herself, knowing that Mariposa will be overjoyed once it's time to tell her the news.


	36. Emotions

**Well life kind of sucks right now, have some cute Starco fluff to make you feel better!**

**It might be a shorter chapter but it is an important one. Pages 4 and 5 of my sketches for this story are up on Tumblr and Deviantart, and with those I am caught up to the current story so the next sketch page will be maybe 5 chapters away due to spoilers.**

* * *

Star loved the colors of fall leaves; they reminded her of all the times she and Marco would sit on the roof and watch the sunset. She strolled down the open halls of the college campus, resisting the urge to jump in a massive pile of leaves herded into the middle of the grass.

Checking her phone, Star made a disappointed noise as no new messages popped onto her text feed. It was weird not to get a single text from Marco since they left for class in the morning; she briefly wondered if he had been kidnapped again, but Marco had already assured her it would never happen again after she made the same mistake during his grandma's surprise party.

"What are you up to Diaz?" she whispered to herself as she opened the front door to the dorm building. Just as she pulled the door open, Marco Diaz himself ran out the same door and quickly passed Star before he backtracked to her "Star, perfect timing!"

"Marco is everything alright?" despite seeing him in the flesh, his frantic running raised a couple of questions "Oh totally! Everything's awesome!" Marco put on a convincing smile as he tried to act cool "Listen, I have some stuff I have to do this afternoon but I was hoping we could go out for a nice dinner tonight?"

"Uh sure." Star agreed, still suspicious of her boyfriend. Not noticing her suspicion, Marco prepared to run off again "Cool, I'll meet you in the dorm at 4:30, wear something nice but not fancy!" he informed her.

Putting his hands together, Marco called out "Fantastic Exit Beam!" and a burst of light sent him rocketing across the school ground (leaving a Marco-shaped hole in the leaf pile as he smashed through it.) Not getting any explanation for her lover's behavior, Star opened the calendar app on her phone to see if she is forgetting anything "Let's see our anniversary was three months ago, Marco's birthday isn't for another week and a half, it's not another hamster séance with Janna…" there was nothing important about today at all. She and Marco did like to surprise each other with gifts and spontaneous dates; Star figured that was probably the case with this as well.

"Maybe he found a super rare box of Sugar Seeds?" Star hoped out loud, wiping the drool off of her face before heading to her dorm room.

OXOXOXOX

Looking herself over in the mirror, Star admired the cute pink dress she picked out from her closet. She styled a single braid over the top of her head where her headband usually sat, with some short boots on the bottom to match the dress.

"Star, you ready yet?" Marco's voice called from behind the bathroom door "Yep, all good!" she responded, opening the door to find Marco in a nice white dress shirt with a red moon on the right side of his chest. Marco sighed lovingly as he looked in her eyes "You look-""Amazing?" Star guessed. Marco chuckled, she knew him well "Yeah, you always are."

As they left the building, Star hooked her arm around his and looked up at him "So what'cha got planned?" Marco didn't answer, he just held out his free arm and opened a portal "Something just for the two of us." He led her through the shimmering tear in the fabric of reality.

Coming out the over side, Star was greeted with a bird's eye view of their town. The sight never bored her; the entire country was one big miracle the two of them created. As Star admired the view, she felt Marco nudge her side "I believe our table is ready." He turned the two of them around to reveal a white-cloth table and two chairs placed in front of a large tree. Star smiled as she recognized where they were, this was where the two of them hung out after getting everything sorted on the day of the cleaving "Aw Marco, is this what you were doing all day, setting up a romantic dinner for us?"

"Well that was one of the things…" Marco pulled one of the chairs out for her before sitting in his own "We haven't had a private night out for a while, so…here we are." Reaching under the table, Marco pulled up a large picnic basket and opened it out of Star's sight "Its lovely Marco and I bet it'll be even better with whatever's in that basket."

"Oh you're gonna love this…" Marco lifted some bowls and spoons from inside the basket, placing them on the table before grabbing a cold thermos and putting it between them. Star's eyes lit up with sparkles as she realized what their dinner was "No way, is it…" her boyfriend pulled out a large box of breakfast cereal that seemed to glow like a golden treasure "Sugar Seeds X-Treme Nuclear Crazy Turbo Xylophone X-Treme Plus Hyper Mega Eddition Deluxe!"

Biting her tongue to suppress a squeal of joy, Star held the box in her hands as she gazed in wonder "It really exists! I thought this version was only a myth whispered through supermarket aisles!" no matter how long she stared at it, she still had a hard time believing she was holding the most elusive box of breakfast cereal known to man "I didn't think it was real either, but I got some inside information on how to get it." Marco recalled.

FLASHBACK

Marco is standing at the front of the Sugar Seeds Factory; right beside the front gate is a tiny gift shop kiosk with an elderly woman behind the counter "Um, one Sugar Seeds X-Treme Nuclear Crazy Turbo Xylophone X-Treme Plus Hyper Mega Eddition Deluxe please?" Marco ordered, somewhat bewildered. The lady grabbed a box of the cereal from a large crate containing several identical boxes "Here, four dollars."

FLASHBACK OVER

"Yeah it was super epic." Marco bragged, totally convincing his girlfriend. Star carefully ripped the top of the box open and held it above her bowl, when the contents poured out it was less cereal and more pure sugar with marshmallows mixed in. Pouring in the milk from the thermos, the sugary substance basically melted into the liquid "I think a single bowl of this is enough to warrant a trip to the dentist." Marco muttered as he went over the ingredient list on the back, Star pushed the box down and looked Marco in the eyes "No amount of dentistry can keep us away from the sweet, forbidden breakfast treasure."

Each took a spoonful and clinked their utensils together "Cheers!" they took their first bites at the same time "Ok, wow this is sweet!" Marco didn't know what else he could have expected from the cereal. Star dug in and ate spoonful after spoonful "Something this good should be illegal!" "It is." Marco reminded her.

The couple laughed as they enjoyed each other's company, looking out over the town as pure sugar flowed down their throats. As the last bit of cereal left her bowl, Star smiled at Marco "So what's for dessert?" Marco groaned, already feeling a toothache "Don't even joke about that."

The orange-hue of the sun began to overtake the purplish sky of Earthni, signaling to Marco that it was time "So I didn't take us here just for dinner, there's something I wanted to show you." He gently took her by the hand and led her around the tree to face the sunset "It's gonna be pretty hard to beat banned breakfast cereal." Star eagerly waited to see what Marco was planning.

Marco held his hand out as he measured the sun with his eyes, waiting until the center of the sun hit his thumb. Producing a small beam of magic, Marco aimed for a prism placed on a cliff nearby and watched the light bounce off the prism and shoot towards another one on the opposite side of the cliffs. Star watched intently as the light beam reflected from dozens of prism surfaces, each strategically placed to form a star shape out of a rainbow. When the sun touched the horizon the rainbows lifted from the surface and covered the sky, filling the space overhead with dozens of rainbows that mixed with the twilight for a spectacular display.

"Woah, it's beautiful!" Star stared at the luminous rainbows in awe "Thank you Marc-"when she looked to her side to thank him, he was no longer standing beside her.

Marco was kneeling on one knee with a small box in his hand.

"Marco…" Star was breathless, the wondrous display all but forgotten as her eyes were glued to her lover "Star Butterfly…" Marco began "You are…well you're my everything. My best friend, my one true love, my soulmate, you are the one thing I can't live without. Every second I spend with you makes me love you more than I already do, and I never want that to end. So Star…will you marry me?"

He opened the tiny box to reveal a ring inside, instead of the usual gemstones the ring was decorated with painted warnicorn teeth, a tradition for Mewni betrothals. Star's hands flew to her mouth as she stifled her gasp, tears welled up in her eyes as she broke out into a huge grin "Marco!" she tackled her love into a tight embrace, gazing into his eyes with pure love "Of course I'll marry you!" she couldn't stop the tears of joy from falling down her face, she just let them go as she pushed her lips up against her new fiancée's.

After what felt like forever, the two pulled apart from their passionate kiss for air. Taking the ring from the box, Marco gently placed it onto Star's finger, grinning like a complete dork as the sun dropped below the sea. He tried to say something, anything, but he could only let out overjoyed laughs as he rested his forehead against hers. Similarly speechless, Star simply nuzzled against his neck as they enjoyed this perfect moment. This really was the best surprise he could have given her.


	37. You'll Play Your Part

**Hi everyone, I'm glad you liked the previous chapter! I never have much to say at the top of these but I feel the need to write in this spot anyway.**

**Now to answer some questions from reviews:**

**To 123: Sorry but I do not have an Instagram account. I only have Tumblr, Deviantart, Twitter and Facebook. **

**To Ironchef13: In the last chapter they were 18 and about to turn 19. This chapter takes place five months later and now they are both 19. **

* * *

The student council room at Echo Creek College was surprisingly calm at the moment, all of the members and various club leaders sat around the table as their student president flipped through a stack of papers in his hands "-and that is why dinosaur week has been suspended until next month, hopefully by then the archeology club will learn not to bring fossils back to life. Now that we've got all of that settled, let's open up the floor to anything else that needs to be discussed." 19 year-old Marco Diaz took his seat at the end of the table, giving a quick look to his lovely vice president to his left.

A few of the other students raised their hands up, Marco called upon the one closest to himself "Yes Ferguson?" he addressed his old friend. The chubby redhead sat up and looked around the room "We've been having a few setbacks in the computer room, whenever we try and run our own programs the computers kind of…stop." He explained the malware incident as lightly as he could without revealing that they've broken more than half of the computers in the lab.

Marco sighed "Ferg, we talked about this. If the roleplay club wants to use their own games then they need to be tested on your own computers before you break ours." "But my stuff's on there…" Ferguson muttered.

"We don't have enough in the budget to replace the ruined computers sir." Trevor spoke up.

"They don't need to be replaced; it would be more cost effective to repair them instead." Marco reasoned "The robotics club might be able to restore them, get ahold of them and see if it's possible."

Ferguson saluted and ran out of the room to do as Marco suggested, the people from before raised their hands back up and Marco pointed to the next closest from where Ferguson sat. A boy monster in a sweatband stood up with a basketball under his arm "As you know the gymnastic club has been moved from their old room and into the gym, where us on the basketball team have had our practices at the same time for the last eight years! Make them find a new place by tomorrow!"

"Now wait just a minute!" another student who had been raising their hand stood up, a girl with short hair and a leotard under her dress "Our supervising teacher was moved to a different classroom so we can't use our old room anymore! The gym is the only place we can hold our clubs but these meatheads keep hogging the place!" "I don't see you guys winning any trophies for the school!" the guy slammed his fist on the table as he glared at the girl "We win plenty of medals thank you very much! Speaking of trophies why hasn't your team brought back the gold for two straight semesters?"

The two teens raised their voices as they shouted over one another, not letting anyone else get a word in. The blaring sound of an air horn boomed across the room and brought all attention to the vice president "Enough you two! It's not hard to get this straightened out." Star pointed to each of them "Will, your basketball team will get the gym Monday and Wednesday. Chantelle, the gymnastic club will get the place Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Friday you each get the gym for half the time and move when the next group comes in. Does that work for both of you?" the two nodded their heads and sat back down, still sending silent glares at each other.

With that matter settled, there was still one student raising her hand at the end of the table. A short Mewman girl with a sweater covering most of her form quietly spoke up "Um I have a request…" she meekly spoke. Star sat quietly and motioned for her to continue, the girl stood up and kept her eyes down towards her feet "H-hi I'm Miele, and I…I well…." "SPEAK UP!" another guy shouted across the table, leaving the girl shaken and close to tears.

Star jumped out of her seat and went to the girl's side, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder "It's alright, take your time." She quickly looked back and gave a look to the interrupting student that told him she would deal with him later.

Taking a deep breath, the mewman named Miele spoke again "I would like…to-to make a request for the gardening club. Outside of one of the library windows is an empty dirt patch and we…er I was wondering if it would be alright if maybe…if the gardening club could possibly plant some flowers in that soil…"

Smiling softly, Star tried to look her in the eyes even as the girl sunk down into her sweater "Miele was it? I think that's a good idea." Miele silently gasped and peaked out at the blonde beside her "We need to get permission from the library but I'm sure they'll love it." Pulling her sweater off of her face, she gave a tiny smile and mumbled "…Thank you…"

Rising from his own seat, Marco looked around the room "Alright that concludes this week's meeting. If anything else comes up send out an email." The rest of the people in the room got up and migrated for the door, except for the president and vice president who stayed back for a moment "I think that was our best meeting yet, I only had to use the air horn once." Star twirled the can in her fingers, upon twirling it up and catching it in her hands she accidentally pressed it, the sound hurting her ears as she slammed her hands against them "Ow."

As he was putting the stack of papers in the cabinet, Marco heard a quiet sound from the cellphone in his pocket "Wonder what this is…" he checked the text, curiously raising an eyebrow "Hey Star, remember how your family's old castle is being rebuilt?" "Yeah, why?" Star replied as she stuffed the air horn into her bag. Marco held out his phone and let her see the news article on the screen "Apparently It's almost finished."

Star was surprised to see the photo of her old home; she never paid much attention to it whenever she went into town and hadn't realized it had gotten so far along. Seeing the castle brought bittersweet memories for her, as much as she loved her old home it also served as a reminder of the old Butterfly dynasty and the mistakes made by those that lived there over the years "I can't believe it, it looks almost new…"

Thinking back, Star realized Eclipsa never did tell her what she planned to use the renovated castle for, Marco apparently was wondering the same thing "Eclipsa still hasn't said anything on what their gonna use it for?" "No, she wants it to be a surprise." Star answered. Curiosity gnawed away at her as she stared at the photo, she couldn't explain why but it gave her an uneasy feeling "Mhmm…"

OXOXOXOX

A short while later Star was already at the Monster Temple. The building was abuzz with city officials and townsfolk alike going about their own business. Star looked around until she spotted a floating pony head near the staircase "Hornanne!" she called out to the purple horse head.

Hornanne turned around and greeted Star with a smile "Hey Star, what brings you here today?" "I wanted to talk to Eclipsa about something; do you know where she is?" Star asked the council-pony "Well we just finished our meeting a little while ago, so she might be in her study right now." Hornanne advised her "Cool, thanks!" Star waved goodbye as she headed for the right corridor.

There wasn't anyone else in the hallway as Star walked through, she passed by several old doors and delicately woven tapestries before she approached the study. The door was already cracked open and she could hear a familiar voice talking on the other side "-they keep asking about it and I don't know what to keep telling them!" "Just tell them things are still being processed at the moment." Star poked her eye through the doorway and found Eclipsa and her mother talking on the other side, Moon paced the floor as Eclipsa sat in her chair with a cup of tea.

"They've been hearing that for a while, I don't know how much longer until the plans leak to the public." Moon sighed, rubbing her temples to soothe her headache. Putting down her cup of tea, Eclipsa sighed "The council have kept quiet this long so the details won't be leaked easily. It wasn't supposed to be finished this early, the castle should have still taken three more years but with magic returned and the modern technology of Earth reconstruction went by much smoother."

Moon finally stopped and looked back to Eclipsa "What about Star, are we still going to wait until the original date to tell her?" The current queen nodded "Yes I still want to wait until she's finished with college at least. She doesn't need to be burdened with taking the throne right now."

"…What…"

The quiet voice caught the attention of the two Butterfly ladies as they jumped up and stared at the blonde girl in the doorway "Star!" Moon gasped, the disbelieving look on her daughters face told her she had heard what they had been discussing "Star, listen-" Eclipsa started, only to be cut off by Star herself "What are you saying? Me? Take the throne?! I-I'm not the princess of Mewni anymore!" she reminded her elders.

The queen and former queen exchanged an uncomfortable glance "Right?" Star hoped. Moon and Eclipsa looked Star in the eyes, trying to break the news as easily as they could "Actually Star…you are…" Eclipsa spoke.

Star stood quietly as she listened to her mother and Eclipsa explain "We wanted to wait until you were 22 to tell you this but, Eclipsa has named you her successor as Queen of the country of Earthni." "I made this decision before magic returned, I always intended for you to inherit the throne but you had already done so much for our people and this kingdom. I wanted you to live out your teen years as a normal girl before informing you that you were the princess again."

Moon moved to place her hand on Star's shoulder, but her daughter nudged her away "So you thought waiting until the last minute to tell me was the best choice?! I can't be queen; my family usurped the throne from yours! I don't deserve to be queen, Meteora does! Wh-what about her?! Denying her the throne was why she went on a rampage before!"

Eclipsa tore her eyes away sadly "That…actually is half of the reason why I made my decision…" the queen's gaze wandered to a portrait of her, Meteora and Globgor over the fireplace "When I turned my daughter back into an infant, it reset her memories of her previous life. But there is a good chance those lost memories will resurface when she reaches adulthood. If that does happen…I just can't imagine what will happen to my little girl."

"Are you sure that's going to happen?" Star asked.

"It's a fifty-fifty chance." Eclipsa responded as she turned back around.

"Then maybe nothing will happen." Star argued "But if it does-"Eclipsa countered "-It will hurt everyone. Not only will Meteora be burdened with her past life, the public will only see her for who she used to be. It could cause her to relapse into her destructive ways again." To her people, Meteora and Heinous who tried to take over Mewni were two different people, the tall tales Pony Head started only added fuel to the fire on Heinous's reputation "You might be right and that I am worried about nothing, but that is not the only reason we chose you to be next in line."

"We?" Star repeated, tilting her head in confusion "You and mom?"

Moon shook her head "No, Eclipsa and the council. I was only told about this when Eclipsa approached me about renovating the castle."

"A queen doesn't make a big decision on her own anymore; all important matters are discussed with the council." Eclipsa reminded her adopted granddaughter "When I proposed for you to succeed me, the other council members had to agree with me. It was put to a vote and it was an almost unanimous vote in your favor." The queen conjured up a scroll and passed it to Star for her to read. Except for the demon representative, the other five had all sided with Eclipsa and stated their reasons. She expected Buff Frog, Hornanne and Rich Pigeon to be in her favor, but it was surprising to read the positive feedback from the Mewman and Waterfolk representatives that she had never even met.

Star read over the scroll several times over, it said that they thought she was a natural leader and that she cared about everyone no matter the species, that even though she has made mistakes she ultimately changed Mewni for the better. Star truly couldn't believe the praises they said about her, she honestly believed most people from Mewni still saw her as a screw up that set fire to castles and handed the kingdom other to infamous past queens "They…really think all this about me?" she closed the scroll and let it vanish in a small magic puff.

"You've helped so many people Star, if anyone has earned the right to be queen it's you." Eclipsa took Star's hands into her own and gave her an endearing smile "You also have something no Butterfly has ever had before, you have a choice."

Star blinked "A choice?" her adopted grannie nodded "It is completely up to you whether you want to become queen or not. If you accept then you will take the throne in three years, if you don't then Meteora will inherit it when she is older, you are probably right that she will be ok. Whatever your choice, we will respect it."

As Eclipsa let go, she could see the turmoil raging inside the princess's mind. Star had a lot to think about, and she needed to inform the one other person who would be greatly affected by this as well.

OXOXOXOX

_Ba-bump…Ba-bump…_

The sound of her fiancée's heartbeat never failed to soothe her nerves. Star pressed her head tightly to his chest as Marco's kept his arms tightly around her body, running his hands through her hair as he took in the news. The moment she stepped into the dorm she ran into his arms and explained the situation about becoming queen. Now her face was buried in his hoodie as she sought the comfort of her love.

"Star…" Marco decided to break the silence. Two blue orbs turned to look up in the direction of his voice which hadn't spoken since she arrived "I know this is a hard decision for you, but…I trust you, and I will have your back no matter what you pick." He pledged his support.

The blonde let out a deep breath "Marco it's…it's not just my choice. This is your decision as much as it is mine…" her fiancée stared at her blankly "If I accept then you'll be king, remember?" Star explained to him. The dots connected for the boy as his heartrate began to match hers when she had first heard of the news "Oh…OH!" it finally sank in "Oh my god I would be king!"

Normally Star would laugh at his reaction, but she felt the same way as he did and hugged him tighter "I know! That's why I can't make this decision alone; we need to make it together." She couldn't let him be trapped in whatever she picked, they were equals, they were partners, this was their future so the choice rested on both of their shoulders.

The quiet returned as the two were consumed in thought, thinking about how the other would do if they accepted the throne. It meant giving up a regular suburban life, it meant being in charge of the entirety of Earthni, it meant their children would be expected to rule in their place one day. But things were different than how they used to be, this wasn't Mewni anymore, and a queen had a lot more freedom nowadays.

"Hey, remember that time with Mr. Candle?" Marco brought up out of the blue "Yeah, I almost cut off a mermaids tail…" Star sounded regretful "Back then I told you that you would be running Mewni your own way. That hasn't changed, only now I think people can accept the 'Star' way of being queen."

Star hesitated before she responded back "…Do you really think I could do it?" "I know you can." Marco smiled fondly as he tilted her chin up to face his loving eyes "Just being student body vice president I've seen how good of a leader you are. You take time to listen to every problem, you're good at diplomacy, and you have everyone's best interests at heart."

"You're one to talk, the only reason anything can get done around here is with you around." Star spoke with utmost sincerity "You keep things so organized and you're always coming up with good ideas. If there's anyone here that's a good leader it's you."

With their thoughts on each other out in the open, the duo started to process what kind of future they wanted to create. While Star still feared all the negative aspects of becoming Queen, Marco got her thinking on how much good she could do with that position as well "I won't have to uphold all those queenly traditions my mother used to lecture me about." "We could have a more hands on approach to helping our people." "We can still have time to just have fun like we always do." "Honestly, it sounds more like being a mayor than a queen."

The thought of becoming Queen had terrified her no more than an hour ago, and now… "Marco…I think I want to give it a try…" one of her arms lifted off of Marco's torso, lowering downwards until it fell into Marco's own with a tight squeeze "Yeah…then I'm willing to try with you."

The following morning Star and Marco approached the royal council hand in hand, choosing to accept the throne. Both of them were still scared, but they knew they could overcome anything as long as they had each other.


	38. I DO I DO I DO

**It's finally time to do this chapter! You all know what's coming!**

**To viceversa96: I was in the middle of writing it when I saw your page and thought 'Huh, that's a coincidence.'**

**To animegamefanatic: Meteora has her own dream she wants to accomplish.**

* * *

The day had finally arrived; the day Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz would be wed!

They had come such a long way, from friends to lovers, through pain and hardships; they had merged dimensions for one another. The couple couldn't be any happier!

"TOM I'M FREAKING OUT!"

The groom to be called out to his best man in a panic, the demon rolled his eyes shook his head "Marco chill out, Star is not going to notice a single, tiny wrinkle on your suit." Tom was no stranger to Marco's freak-outs over insignificant details, and unsurprisingly getting married caused this habit of his to pop up at the drop of a hat. Literally, his dad had knocked a hat over and Marco spent five minutes cleaning the floor of anything the hat could have dropped with it.

"It's not Star I'm worried about! Everyone else will be watching me and judging me if my suit isn't tidy! They'll think I didn't put any effort into my appearance, they'll think I didn't put enough effort into the wedding, they'll try and talk Star out of it!" Marco spiraled as he straightened out the wrinkle, calming down as it disappeared. Marco glanced back and noticed the deadpan stare Tom was sending him "…I'm overreacting aren't I?" "That's putting it mildly."

Marco took in a deep breath as he looked himself over in the mirror, the white suit and black tie fit perfectly on him. It all felt like a dream to him, if he had told his younger self he'd be getting married to his true love and become a prince, on top of learning magic and saving the world all at the age of 20, he wouldn't believe a word of it. Yet that was reality, and against all odds here he was. For all of the things that worry him or make him uncertain, the love that he and Star shared was the one thing he had total confidence in.

"Hey-"Tom's voice dragged Marco back from his thoughts "Don't wanna send you into another panicking mess, but is there anything else we need to do before we head out there?" "Is the cake safe from River, Meteora and Ludo?" Marco double checked.

Inside the kitchen, the wedding cake is surrounded by a gate made of broccoli. Ludo comes out of hiding from under a tablecloth and approaches the cake, only to stop when he sees the green gate "Vegetables?!" the kappa gives up and retreats.

"It's the only thing that will keep all three of them away at once." Marco sounded proud of the solution "How about my dad?"

Mr. Diaz sat in the front row of chairs with a tissue box beside him. Every time he grabbed one to blow his nose the tissue would vanish and a new one would come out of the box.

"Never ending box of tissues, that sounds like something you'd magic up." Tom commented before remembering something else "What about security? Is one guard really enough to keep out any wedding crashers that wanna ruin your day?" Despite Tom's concerns, Marco looked confident "Trust me, she's enough."

Outside close to the wedding venue, a random man chuckles to himself as he sneaks off towards the wedding "This'll be the 50th wedding I've crashed in a row! Nothing will stop me now!" the moment the words leave his lips the guy crashed head first into an invisible barrier around the area, looking closely he could see a slight red tint where he had collided "What the-"a red laser shot from the sky and narrowly missed him. The wedding crasher screamed as lasers continuously shot out from what appeared to be a faint red moon in the daylight, with a large laser cannon made of magic attached to the top. The Blood Moon flashed a message that translated to 'I HAVE A LASER NOW!'

"All outside factors that could mess everything up have been dealt with." Marco gave himself a pat on the back, proud that he covered all his bases.

A knock on the door alerted the two that it was almost time, Tom held Marco by the shoulders and gave him a genuine smile "Hey, don't worry, you got this." Marco smiled back "Thanks Tom." It was strange to think the angry, possessive demon ex-boyfriend of Star's that tried to kill him when they first met, was now his best man at their wedding. Tom let go of his friend and the two made their way to the altar.

OXOXOXOX

"Aaaand done!" Kelly said as she finished weaving the last tiny star into the bride's hair. She held up her sword so that Star could see herself in the reflection "Aw its perfect! That's Kelly!" Star grinned at her green-haired friend. Star's long blonde hair had been set into a wavy ponytail with dozens of little golden stars scattered about.

"Yo B-Fly, let the maid of honor put the veil in!" Pony Head nudged Kelly to the side as she came floating in with the veil hanging from her horn. The floating head moved to the back of the bride and tried to fasten the veil to the top of her ponytail, only for the veil to fall off the head each time she tried "Oh what?!" Pony Head did the same thing many times over, each with the same result.

"Uh, Pony Head?" Star was about to speak before another girl came and grabbed the veil from the maid of honor and quickly fastened it to Star's head "It's a lot easier when you have hands." Janna waved her arms in front of Pony Head, who sulked for a moment "I'm the maid of honor, how come she gets to put it on?" Pony grumbled under her breath.

"Star?" The bride heard her name being called from behind the door as her mother and Eclipsa entered the room. Moon silently gasped as she glimpsed at her little girl, wearing a sleeveless white dress with a layer of lace on the left side of the skirt and her makeup done just enough to highlight her natural beauty "Oh Star, you look lovely." Moon reached out to hug her daughter, only for Star to hug her first instead "Thanks mom."

It felt surreal to Star; she was actually going to be married to her one true love. There were many times she feared this day would never come, but the two of them had made it through all of the hard times and finally managed to reach what most people call a happily ever after. This wasn't an ever after though, it was only a new chapter in their story, there would be troubles and problems in the future, but she and Marco could do anything together so she wasn't afraid.

Moon let go of her daughter so Eclipsa could have her turn for a pre-wedding hug "Marco's jaw is going to drop to the floor when he sees how stunning you look!" Eclipsa's comment earned a giggle from Star "Yeah, I hope you can snap a picture of it."

"Got it covered." Janna pressed a button on her phone, pulling up video footage from several hidden cameras. This would probably be the only time Marco would not only encourage her to tape him, but actually pay her money for it. Kelly leaned over Janna's shoulder and pointed to one of the feeds "Great, Darcy's fainted again. That's the seventeenth time today and the ceremony hasn't even started!"

While her bridesmaids and Eclipsa gathered around to watch Janna's phone, Star and her mother shared a meaningful look as the latter wiped a tear from her eye "I should get back to the others now." Moon attempted to leave before her daughter grabbed her hand "Mom, thanks…for everything." Moon beamed at her daughter, not taking her eyes off of her until she was out of the room.

Eclipsa, Janna and Kelly filed out of the room next, but Pony Head stayed behind to talk to her best friend, her mascara starting to run down her face "Oh girl I can't believe you're getting hitched! I always told myself I would be prepared for this day…BUT I'M NOT!" a waterfall of tears shot out of her eyes, causing Star to conjure a umbrella to keep herself dry "Aw Pony, I promise when you get married I'll cry even harder for you."

"You mean it?" Pony sniffled.

Star grabbed a napkin and removed the smeared makeup from her maid of honor's cheeks "Of course!" although Star had some serious doubts as to if Pony would ever actually get married, she sincerely meant it.

"Hugs!" both girls brought each other into a quick hug before departing, ready to start the wedding.

OXOXOXOX

The Earthni sky was clear and bright as it sparkled over the wedding location. For an event like this Eclipsa had allowed the couple to hold the ceremony in her private rose garden close to the Monster Temple. It was the first time almost everyone had seen the garden and were in awe at all the different colored roses the queen had grown in her spare time. White chairs sat before a white arch in the space usually used to hold tea parties, dozens of guests sat in wait.

Ludo groaned in frustration that his cake mission had ended in failure, he made his way through the aisles as he searched for his seat "Row four, row four…" he repeated to remind himself. He found the row and made his way through until he reached an almost empty chair "Who left this sailor man painting here?" Ludo moved to grab the portrait, not expecting the portrait to glare at him and talk "Aye this be my seat!"

The tiny kappa let go of the painting and tried the seat next to it, finding a simple card with a red arrow pointing upwards on top "That seats taken too!" Alphonse informed him "What?! By who!?" Ludo poked the card to see if it was alive as well. Several red flashes above alerted him to the chairs recipient high up in the sky "They invited the moon, of course they did." Ludo stomped off further down the aisle. At the very end he found the chair with his name on it, a toddler's high chair instead of the regular kind "Excellent!" Ludo climbed on top "I feel so tall!"

With everyone in their seats, the groom took his place beside the arch, smiling at the design of a flaming rainbow etched into the surface. He felt a nudge in his side and turned his attention to the best man, who gave him a thumb up.

The bridesmaids stood (and floated) across the other side of the arch, Janna sending a wink to Tom as she arrived. Moon and Eclipsa were the last to arrive as they took their seats in front besides their husbands and Marco's parents. The queen sent a signal for Ruberiot to start playing the wedding march, which he obliged.

Everyone turned to the entryway as the two little flowergirls skipped down the aisle. Mariposa scattered the flowers as she twirled and pranced across the carpet, Meteora walked instead and chucked bunches of flowers at the guests "Flower Girl! Flower Girl!" she announced as she tossed her flowers at the audience, with one bunch hitting Ferguson right in the eye.

Once the petals were spread the girls stood up by the bridesmaids, Meteora quickly stuck her tongue out at Marco before anyone saw her. All eyes returned to the entry way as the bride made her grand entrance, holding a bouquet of white and gold flowers Star marched down the aisle eagerly. Marco stared at her in awe; she never ceased to amaze him. He knew she was going to look incredible in her wedding dress, but he couldn't imagine all of the love he felt swell up inside of him as Star got closer and closer to him.

For Star, walking slowly down the aisle was the hardest part. She wanted to run up to Marco and hold him in her arms, she couldn't wait any longer to be married to him. Stepping up to the front row, she could hear her dad and Marco's dad sobbing together, continuously using the never ending tissue box as they loudly blew their noses.

Finally, Star reached the end where her Marco was waiting; they caught each other's eyes and found themselves speechless "Hey." Was all Marco could get out "Hi." Star couldn't come up with another response.

"Ahem." The lovebirds were brought back to Earthni by the sound of Principal Skeeves clearing his throat. It felt weird being wed by their former high school principal, but he had all of his credentials to officiate weddings. The short man opened a book and read aloud "We are gathered here today to witness the union between Princess Star Butterfly and Marco Ubaldo Diaz. Two people who have proven time and time again that love is actually real and not something made up to give teenagers a false sense of hope for their future."

"These two are literally the reason two dimensions came together, that's how much they love each other; they defied the laws of nature itself and rewrote destiny." Skeeves double checked a sticky note inside the book, hiding his surprise from the audience "Wait Really?" he whispered before going back on track "The bride and groom have requested that I 'skip the really long boring speech about what marriage is and your duties and just get to the good part' so we shall be skipping right to the vows. If you two would…" he gestured for the couple to exchange the vows they had written.

Marco went first; he reached into his suit pocket and unfolded a paper as he read aloud "Star Butterfly, you are the light of my life. When I'm with you I am complete, I can be the best Marco I can be because of you. Before you entered my life I never took risks, I stayed inside my safe shell where I thought I was content. Then you opened my eyes to what I was missing, you dragged me out of my shell and tossed me into a world of chaos and adventure, and I embraced it. You gave this awkward, safe kid a chance and I knew that…you're the most important person in my life. I love you Star, and I would do anything to protect and be with you. I will be by your side in times of peace or danger, as your devoted husband and partner. I'll go clubbing with you even when I'm too tired, I'll share my late night nachos, but most importantly I will be your very best friend and lover for all time. Amen."

The hearts on Star's cheeks were softly glowing as her eyes filled with joyful tears. Marco always knew what to say to get her heart beating a hundred-miles a minute, the updated wedding version of the old squire vow was the cherry on top of the emotional cake of happiness she felt. The guests all felt the same with many shedding a tear (Or several for their dads).

Now it was Star's turn to read her vows to him, she summoned her piece of paper with a bit of magic and began to read "Marco Diaz, you are my whole world. When you're not by my side, a part of me is missing. It's all because of you I became the person I am today; you helped me see the world through another perspective. I've always been reckless and irresponsible, but you became the rock that kept me grounded and taught me things I wouldn't have found by myself. I was never a screw up to you, you were able to see something worthwhile in me and I…I couldn't bear the thought of living without you. Marco, I love you so much and I would do anything to stay by your side and keep you safe. It doesn't matter what we become, as long as we can be husband and wife then I'll be happy. You are my lifeline, the hope that keeps me going when everything else is gone, you mean more to me than anything else and I will forever be your true love and best friend. Amen."

Now Marco was the one wiping tears from his eyes, her vows absolutely touched his heart. The fact that their vows were very similar proved just how in sync the two of them are, they were one heart in two bodies. With the vows finished, Skeeves moved onto the next part "Will the ring bearer please present the rings?" a tiny purple spider with a top hat scurried up to the couple, carrying two gold rings on a small pillow.

The bride and groom each grabbed a ring as Skeeves read aloud "Do you, Marco Ubaldo Diaz, take Star Butterfly to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and cherish her for as long as you both shall live? To be her partner in everything you two shall face?" Marco slid the ring onto Star's finger, tenderly gazing deep into her eyes "I do."

"And do you, Star Butterfly, take Marco Ubaldo Diaz as your lawfully wedded husband? To love and cherish her for as long as you both shall live? To be her partner in everything you two shall face?" Star fit the ring onto Marco's hand, giving him an equally loving gaze "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of Earthni, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss-"Star and Marco didn't wait for Skeeves to finish, they flung themselves at each other and pulled into a passionate kiss. The hearts and moons on their cheeks lit up with magic as the couple put all their love for each other into this one moment. The audience stood up and cheered for the newlyweds, the sounds of applause filled the air as everyone congratulated the two. When Star and Marco finally broke apart for air, they held their hands together and rested their foreheads against each other's. They were finally married.

OXOXOXOX

"-so then Marco started screaming like a little girl! I gotta say it was the funniest thing to happen at my sweet sixteen!" Pony Head finished telling another embarrassing Marco story to the head table. While Tom had given him a heartfelt and emotional best man speech, Pony Head decided it would be fun to share as many embarrassing stories of his that she possibly could.

But for once, not even Pony Head was able to ruin his mood, Marco was the happiest he's ever been. Both Star and Marco were on cloud nine, neither could stop smiling as the reception went on. When Star had been informed that cutting the cake was usually one of the last things in a reception, she had declared it a travesty and instead had it scheduled to be the first thing at the reception. The couple listened to all the toasts while their faces were stuffed with cake, with Star nearly choking on a bite during Pony's tale as she tried hard to keep herself from laughing.

"Maybe now you'll take smaller bites." Marco teased as Star chugged her glass of water. Star finally set the now empty glass down and shoved another huge piece into her mouth "NEVER!"

As the rest of the guests mingled and enjoyed themselves, the MC over at the DJ booth finished setting up and turned on his mic "Alright folks, how are we doing tonight?" "I've been better!" one random voice shouted over the audience, the MC ignored it "So a few quick announcements, first the chocolate fountain has been removed because some stuck their tongue in it." River stepped back sheepishly as Mariposa and Meteora glared at him, ruining their plan to do the same "I have been told to tell people 'not to listen to the goblin in the photo booth', and the first dance between the bride and groom is coming up next!"

Hearing the last part, Star hurried to finish the rest of her cake before she and Marco hurried over to the dancefloor. Everyone gathered in a circle as the bride and groom took center stage under a spotlight. The couple got in position as bouncy pop music radiated from the speakers, the two shared a nod before launching into their choreographed dance, moving in sync to the rhythm as they mouthed the words to the song. Most of the guests the same age as the newlyweds recognized the music as "All of my Heart" by the old boyband Love Sentence, some lip-singing along like Star and Marco did.

"_I'll give you all of my heart, all of my heart, all of my heart for you_~"

Gliding across the dancefloor, Star was captivated by how Marco's eyes seemed to twinkle under the spotlight. Every pair of eyes in the room was on her, but Marco's was the only gaze she registered. The two of them had always had their own little world, they were truly able to understand the others heart with just a single look. Marco twirled Star before pulling her in close, a second in his arms felt like forever to her. Marco wanted to break their choreography so he could keep her close a moment longer, yet he still continued on as their dance continued. This was just one dance; there will be plenty more for him to hold her close as he focused only on her. They were married now, but honestly the two felt like they got married a long time ago.

The song came to an end and the duo finished their dance, hardly listening to the cheers from the crowd as they were engrossed in each other. The dancefloor filled up but the bride and groom were always in the center, dancing with each other.

OXOXOXOX

"Three, two, one!"

Star tossed the bouquet behind her as hard as she could, listening to all the unmarried woman in the party trying to grab the mess off flowers. With her strength the bouquet managed to fly completely over the crowd, instead landing in the arms of the unsuspecting best man watching from a distance. Tom went wide-eyed as the attention was turned in his direction, paying extra attention as Janna strolled over and wrapped an arm over his shoulder "I'd like the ring to be imbued with the souls of my dead ancestors."

With everyone distracted between Tom catching the bouquet and Buff Frog's surprisingly sweet dance moves, the bride and groom made their escape as they ran over a different area of the rose garden to find Nachos waiting to take them away. Marco jumped on and held out his hand "Ready to board ?" Star took his hand and climbed behind him "All set !"

As they lifted off into the sky, the wedding guests finally noticed the couple had left the reception. Everyone shouted their congratulations as the happy couple waved at them as they soared off into the horizon. Eager to start the next chapter of their lives together.


	39. No Matter Where You Are

**Hey everyone, It's been a rough month and online classes started back up so I couldn't finish this any sooner. But I finished the chapter and that's all that matters!**

**Onto review replies:**

**to RJWritingInk: You'll meet her soon.**

**to viceversa96: Thank you for saying that, it means a lot to me. I've been reading your comic since it started and it's really cute, congrats on finishing it!**

**to Ironchef13: This story still has a while to go so don't be sad just yet. Meteora and Mariposa are 5 currently, I try to mention Star and Marco's ages when there is a timeskip but I mostly forget when it comes to other characters. **

* * *

The sound of footsteps mixed with the natural sounds of the jungle. Unlike other jungles, all of the vegetation in this one was varying shades of purple rather than green while the dirt was a dark cerulean color. This dimension doesn't usually see travelers from the outside, and yet two young adults were trekking through the trees as they searched for their destination.

"According to the map, we should turn north at the large tree in half a mile." Marco put the map back inside of his pocket after a quick peak. Star was a few steps in front of him, pushing giant leaves aside as they made a path going forward "Marco, they are ALL large trees."

After finally getting married to one another, Star and Marco had set off for their interdimensional honeymoon. The two made a list of every place they wanted to visit, whether to go on a daring adventure, or having fun and goofing off, they were going to see it all. Their list had currently taken them to the Florauna dimension, a world overrun by strange nature and mysterious treasures.

Stepping into an open path in the jungle, Marco looked between the treetops and his map as he attempted to make out the right way "I think…it's…this tree!" Marco patted the bark of an old tree "This one is much wider than the rest, making it the oldest. It probably towered over the others when this map was made but now the whole jungle has caught up to it."

Impressed by her husband and his reasoning, Star leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek "I'd be lost without you Marco, both figuratively and literally."

Following the map, the couple headed north until the treetops came to an end and a rickety old bridge greeted them as they reached the Cliffside. Marco looked back and forth between the nice looking bridge on his map and the perilous one right before him "Age has not done this any favors. Star, do you think we should just fly over to the other side?"

"Marco, we agreed no magic on this adventure unless it's an emergency." His wife reminded him.

"I'm pretty sure it will become an emergency if we try walking across it!" Marco argued. His words fell on deaf ears as Star took the first step onto the bridge, gripping onto the sides of the rope as the bridge jiggled in place "We've done way worse than this, come on safe man!" Star urged her love to grab her hand. Marco sighed in defeat as he took her hand and walked two steps behind her.

One careful step at a time, the two had made it halfway across the old bridge without incident. As Star's foot landed on the next plank, the wood lit up an eerie green color. From down in the chasm below the sounds of gears moving could be heard as the two realized they had triggered some sort of trap "Run!" they looked to each other before making a mad dash across the rest of the bridge.

A quarter of the way until the end, large cannonballs began shooting out from the chasm. The couple braced for impact, only to not feel a thing. Curious they peered over the side of the bridge; the cannonballs were so heavy that they began to fall back down long before they reached the bridge "Looks like age did this one favor." Marco muttered before he and Star reached the end.

The bridge came out at another part of the jungle; a cleared trail stood ahead that winded up another Cliffside "That way?" Star checked with Marco and his map "Yep, it should be right over the top." Marco confirmed. The duo made their way up the path, neither noticed a thin vine stretched out like a trip wire before Marco accidentally nudged it.

The duo looked to one another, silently praying that this trap was a dud like the last. Unfortunately, a portion of the mountain opened to reveal a secret passage, with a horde of robot gorilla's activating and setting their sights on them "Robot gorillas, sure why not?" Marco sarcastically commented.

The robotic gorillas roared and charged at the couple, Star and Marco ran further up the path as they attempted to create some distance. Rounding a corner, Star grabbed a short stick out of her dress pocket and pressed a button, extending it into a battle-axe. Star gave the axe a good swing into the Cliffside and caused a portion of the wall to fall onto many of the robo-gorillas. The half that weren't crushed climbed over the stones and continued the chase.

Star had caught back up to Marco as they hurried up the next part of the path "Well that was my only idea. Should we go magic on these guys?" Star asked her husband. Marco stopped running and turned to face the robotic primates "Not yet, I got something I'd like to try." Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a retractable weapon like Star's, only his was a sword instead of an axe. Rather than striking the blade at the bots, Marco held it up and aligned it with the light of the sun, creating a blinding glare that landed on the robots and caused another handful of them to catch fire.

The unharmed robo-gorillas pushed their burning brethren over the side of the cliff, charging for the intruders that had awoken them. Star and Marco went further up so they had enough room to strike the finishing blow "Soapwater Torrent!" "Lightning Dazzle Spark!" Marco shot a stream of bubbly water that coated the remaining robots, leaving them vulnerable to Star's magic as it electrocuted them and shorted them out.

Waiting a brief moment to be certain the robots were down, Star and Marco high-fived and laughed with relief "Robot gorillas, that was a new one." Star noted "Weirder than robot whales but not as weird as robot jellybeans." Marco recalled similar incidents from years past.

With only a few more feet left to go, Star and Marco sprinted to the end of the path. Reaching the top, the two came eye to eye with their prize, an enormous waterfall that flowed backwards into the sky "The Waterlift…" Marco spoke in hushed awe. It was even more amazing than River had described it.

With a large grin on her face, Star pulled Marco by the arm and sat the two of them down by the edge of the water. They let themselves relax as they enjoyed this beautiful wonder of nature.

"Hey Marco?"

"Yeah Star?"

"Is there any way I can convince you to ride up that in a barrel?"

"Only if we put wings on the barrel and we wear helmets."

"Deal."

OXOXOXOX

Years ago when the Bounce Lounge had closed, it created a rift in the partying energy of the universe. No dance party dimension could come close to what the Bounce Lounge had. Until one day a light twinkled in the dark, danceless universe, a new light that shined with glowsticks and strobe lights. A worthy successor to the Bounce Lounge had finally been born, and the people called this place…The Electric Boogaloo!

"I can't believe they really named it 'Electric Boogaloo'." Marco shook his head as he stared at the neon sign, trying to comprehend why someone would actually use that as the name of an establishment. He seemed to be the only one to recognize its earthly origins as no one else was doing a double take at it.

Star had her ear pressed to the wall as the sound pounded from the other side, from what she could hear it seemed to live up to its hype "I'm coming super awesome party…" she whispered while running her hand down the wall. Marco grabbed her hand and reminded her to move forward as they reached the front of the line "Can you hear it Marco? The sounds of repetitive dance music, the sounds of people living it up with their besties, the sound of a crowd chanting for one guy in the center to fit forty mini-hot dogs in his mouth at once!"

Marco chuckled "Yeah I hear it, and in a second that'll be us." He reached into his pocket and paid the fee for going inside. Star latched onto his arm and eagerly ran inside, the bright lights forcing them to shut their eyes momentarily until they adjusted. The interior was very similar to the one of the Bounce Lounge, the same type of dance floor and DJ station and spikes off to the sides with a skeleton impaled on one. The walls were lined with neon lights that shifted colors in beat to the music, flooding the room with colorful lights as everyone danced their hearts out.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Star's head darted in every direction as she checked the place out "We are going to party all night long!" "Star, it's one in the afternoon." Marco reminded his hyper wife. Star raised an eyebrow in his direction "Yeah, I'll out-dance you after an hour anyway."

Marco mirrored her look "Is that a challenge? Because if it is-"he took a turn to pull her by the arm as he led them to the dance floor, smirking at her with a daring light in his eyes "-then prepare to lose." The square tiles lit up as the couple stepped on them, seamlessly jumping into the song that was already midway through as they showed off their moves. Despite not making a choreography like their wedding dance, they matched each other flawlessly as both tried to outdo one another.

"Nice moves, but can you do this!?" Star twirled into the air and pulled herself into a flip, landing on the floor in a perfect splits "Oh I can beat it alright." Marco countered with his hands positioned in front of his chest, moving them in a chopping motion back and forth.

"Oh sweet, that guys doing the sword hand dance!" a dinosaur like guy pointed to Marco in the midst of the crowd, doing his own sword hand dance in turn. Everyone started doing the same dance move as Marco; soon the whole floor was covered in karate chopping dancers. Soon enough Star herself joined along "If I can't beat it, join it!" she pushed her back against Marco's as they moved together.

Star and Marco lost track of how long they had been dancing for by the time they decided to take a quick break. The couple walked to the side of the club and saw a neon sign that read 'Milkshake Bar' over a counter with stools around it. They went on over and hopped on top of some bar stools, Star waved at the bartender to get his attention "Two large chocolate milkshakes with double whip cream please!" she ordered for the two of them.

Marco fake pouted "Aw you don't wanna share a milkshake with me?"

"If I did then you wouldn't get any." Star flirtatiously booped his nose.

"IS THAT MARCO DIAZ AND STAR BUTTERFLY?!" a deep voice shouted from the other side of the bar. The couple looked over and saw an eagle-looking buff guy with a pair of sunglasses and a pelt on his head "Talon Raventalon?! It's been forever since we last saw you!" Marco greeted his old friend from the kill devil pass riders club.

The eagle-man came over and took a seat beside the two "How've you been since the Solarian incident?" Star asked.

Talon took a large sip of his worm flavored milkshake before recounting his tale "After I got back I found myself lost in another war. Day after day my men marched onto the field and I could only stand by and watch the horrible brutalities that befell them. I lost a lot of brave soldiers, but the ones that survived just kept coming back and giving it they're all! Against all the odds, we were victorious. We feasted like kings at our victory dinner as we remembered all the pain and strife we had faced." A moment passed as Talon shed a single tear "Jimmy's mom took some photo's." he pulled out his wallet and opened it up to a roll of photos featuring himself and the little league baseball team he coached as they played in a championship and said goodbye to players that grew out of the age range.

"Uh…cool!" Marco said in response.

"What about you two, any epic battles with other giant enemies since I left?" Talon asked.

Star and Marco's milkshakes arrived at just the right moment as Marco avoided eye contact by focusing on his chocolatey treat "Yeah, there was a fight with an ancient evil but there's not much to say about that." Star did her best to avoid talking about the Ragnarok incident "But actually, me and Marco just got married!" she grabbed Marco's hand as she happily showed off their wedding rings.

"Woah, congrat's you two!" Talon pumped his fist in the air "You know I was engaged a few years ago actually. She was a wicked rad babe, a mermaid with a canoe that liked to commit arson. We broke up after she got arrested…for setting fire to her own canoe." The newlyweds had no idea how to respond to that information.

The three drank their milkshakes in mostly silence for a few more minutes, with short questions and short answers once in a while…

"So did you have a funeral for Quirky Guy?" Marco asked.

"Yeah, we lit a giant fire at the pass for him." Talon took a sip "It's where I met my ex-fiancé actually."

More awkward silence…

"So uh…did I win the Starco betting pool?" Talon asked.

"Nope." Star answered.

Even more awkward silence ensued….

"Well I should get going, got a real nasty job later today." As Talon stood up he smashed his empty cup against his head, not feeling a bit of pain as chunks of glass got tangled in his pelt "Uh ok, bye Talon, tell your dragoncycle that Nachos is doing fine!" Marco called after the eagle man as he walked away. Once Talon was gone, the couple continued drinking their milkshakes in silence; only for Star to break it a few moments later "I like that guy."

OXOXOXOX

As the azure ocean waved crashed against the beach on Paradisio, a shimmering portal cut through the fabric of reality and swirled under the glow of twilight.

"So final thoughts on the Amethyst Arcade's Virtual Reality room?" the blonde asked her husband as they stepped through the portal before it closed behind them "I think it's kind of pointless. The virtual reality is just a replica of the arcade with the exact same games; the only difference is we're wearing helmets."

Star stretched her arms out as she took in the scenery; she hadn't been to this dimension since the time with Tom and Janna. Out of all the dimensions to visit on their honeymoon this one had to be the most 'honeymoon' one that they picked.

"Are we staying at the same hotel as last time?" Star asked.

"No I booked a different one this time. But before we check in, how about a nice romantic dinner?" Marco suggested. The mention of dinner caused Star's stomach to emit a large growl, reminding her that she had skipped having lunch earlier that day "Yeah that sounds great." Star sheepishly agreed. The two linked arms and strolled down the coast as the sky grew oranger.

Nearing the end of the beach, the two spotted a nice restaurant built over the water. The straw roof and wooden build were reminiscent of Hawaiian places back on Earth "Marco did you know this place was here?" Marco smugly grinned "Maybe…"

The two walked up to the front of the restaurant, where they were greeted by a humanoid pufferfish greeter "Welcome to Hale 'Aina, do you have a reservation?" Marco pulled out his phone and showed the man a reservation barcode "Right here sir." The pufferfish-man verified the code and grabbed two menu's "Right this way Prince Marco."

The couple were sat at a table and quickly ordered their drinks, once the waiter was gone Star took notice of the deep blush on Marco's face "Everything alright Marco?" "Yeah, I'm good." Marco reassured her "I'm just not used to being called that…" he shyly rubbed the back of his neck.

"You mean 'Prince Marco'?" Star clarified, making Marco blush once more "Y-yeah…that…"

Star understood that it must feel strange to suddenly be royalty; she herself was an off and on again royal herself "I know what you mean, I didn't ever think I would be a princess again after what happened. It's been a year now and I still feel strange thinking about it."

"Well Eclipsa and the council chose you because you earned the crown; I got it just by being married to you." Marco didn't want to admit that he felt unqualified to be named prince of Earthni, did he ever accomplish enough to earn his right? As he pondered over his feelings, a soft hand cupped his cheek, her thumb tracing the red moon on his face "Hey, you've always been a prince to me." Star said tenderly.

"But-""No but's Marco. You are awesome, how many other future kings have trained in the Neverzone? How many are powerful magic wielders on even ground with their future queens? How many have their own line of princess merchandise? I'm not the only one who earned the right to rule, you did too."

Like always, his wife knew how to talk some sense into him and ease his doubts. Marco inhaled deeply and exhaled with a sigh "When you put it like that, there's no way I can argue." He admitted, Star smiled coyly "Don't worry 'Prince Marco'; you can always count on your beloved wife to show you the ropes of royalty. We make good choices together." The princess grabbed her husband's hand and hovered it over a dinner menu, randomly pushing their fingers on a dish "See? Good choices." "Star you picked a boiled sea worm dish." "WE picked a boiled sea worm dish!"

OXOXOXOX

The colorful twilight sky had turned dark as night fell on the Paradisio Dimension, after dinner (which Marco convinced Star to order something less disgusting) the couple summoned their bags from home and made their way up to the hotel's honeymoon suite.

Opening the door to their room, the first thing that got their attention was the gigantic pile of pillows and blankets on the bed, giving the two an idea "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Star wondered, Marco nodded "Yep-"

"PILLOW FIGHT!" "BLANKET FORT!" Star and Marco blurted out at the same time. Realizing that they didn't have the same idea, they did what they always do when this happens. Combine the two.

2 MINUTES LATER

"This is not what I had in mind!" Marco screamed from under his collapsed pillow fort, fighting off the magically moving blankets that had destroyed his own blanket army.

5 MINUTES LATER

"Much better." Marco breathed out a relaxed sigh, after suffering a humiliating defeat in the 'Pillow Fort Blanket Fight' Star agreed to simply build a fort on top of the bed. Neither of them bothered to change out of their day clothes or get under the covers, both were tired from the long day and were close to falling asleep already.

"Today was fun Marco." Star snuggled into her husband's side, he placed an arm over her back "Yeah, I keep forgetting this is only the first day of our honeymoon." He admitted.

Star moved her head up so that her face only an inch away from Marco's "I only wish we could have gotten married sooner. I would have even said yes if you'd asked me right after the cleaving." Her words made Marco's heart skip a beat "You mean the same day we started dating? Now that might have been rushing it a bit." He chuckled lightly, watching as Star's cheeks flushed red "You know what I mean!" Star felt Marco hold her hand and intertwine his fingers with hers "Well, we're married now, and we have forever ahead of us." He spoke softly, earning a sweet kiss from Star as she closed the gap between their lips "Yeah, we do."

Fatigue soon caught up to them and the couple fell fast asleep almost instantly, feeling their heart's beat as one.


End file.
